Rock the Tardis
by Werepuppy Black
Summary: Doctor Who / We Will Rock You crossover. Chapter sixteen: Question and Answer
1. Meeting

_**A/N:**__ Yeah, I think this was written pretty much out of boredom, and because that it was possible. So, erm, not really much I can say about it. Reviews are liked ...

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**Rock the Tardis**

"He knows the text, but he's never read it! He's the man!" The excited male voice was the first thing which the Doctor heard upon stepping out of his Tardis. He frowned, and decided to move in the direction of the voice, wondering if it would give him some clue as to what time period he had landed in, though he was pretty sure he was on Earth.

"Then what does it mean? Who is Mamma, who's been killed? Why has it all been thrown away?" a female voice joined the male's, though this voice sounded desperate, as if everything hinged on finding out the answers to her questions.

"I d-don't know!" Yet another voice, this time slightly more nervous than the previous two spoke out. This voice, however, sounded decidedly familiar to the Doctor, and although he couldn't exactly place it, he was sure it would come to him eventually.

"We've been searching for the meaning all our lives," the female said again, sounding desperate once more, but angry as well. It was as though she expected the second male to reveal all the answers to her at once. Perhaps that was what she thought he was meant to do.

"Nothing wrong with searching all your lives for something," the Doctor spoke up as he approached them, "tends to be the only way to make sure you've looked properly," he said. "Hello, I'm the Doctor, who're you?" he asked, beaming at them all widely. He noticed that there were was one more person to join the three voices he had already heard, though she had been silent all this time. The more outspoken female stared at him, before jumping into action. "'e's a spy! Ge' 'im!"

"Doctor, doctor gave me the news," the second male, who, the Doctor realised upon inspection, was really only a boy, muttered slightly, "got a bad case of lovin' you." The second female, who was standing leaning against a broken down, rolled her eyes at his words. The boy smiled sheepish, scuffing his boot on the ground.

"Hang on Meat!" the first male, who gave out an impression of being quite scary, grabbed the blonde female, who was apparently named Meat, around her waist. "He ain't no spy," he insisted. "The texts talk about a Doctor!" he reminded her, causing her eyes to widen slightly.

"'E was wi' Freddie, on 'is last days … " she murmured, staring at the Doctor slightly, awe in her face. The Doctor frowned, not quite sure why his name would be in some 'texts', and why the mention that it was would stop Meat in her tracks. The first male, the Doctor secretly noted that he should find out their names to stop confusing him, smiled warmly at him, removing any of the earlier intimidating image. He walked over and shook the Doctor's hand quite firmly.

"Call me Brit," he told him. "An' I thought you might show up," he said with a wide grin, "I mean, all the texts say you show when helps needed the most, an' we need help."

"Well, erm, Brit, glad to be of help, but what are these texts?" the Doctor asked, feeling confused in his current situation. Brit looked around them, obviously checking to see if it was safe, before shaking his head, conveying an unspoken message: _Not here, but I will tell you._ The Doctor nodded, understanding. He turned to Meat, nodding at her. "We have to go," he said to her, gaining a nod in return.

"Galileo, Scaramouche, are yae ready tae go underground?" she grinned over at the two teenagers. The names echoed round in the Doctor's mind. He knew they were significant, but he couldn't plac… Oh wait, yes he could

"Galileo? As in Galileo Figaro?" he asked the boy excitedly. Galileo nodded nervously stepping back in such a way that his tall frame hid Scaramouche from view, which drew a loud tut from her, as well as a few well spoken words, shoving Galileo forward. She turned to face Meat.

"Don't suppose we've go' much o' a choice, have we?" she asked the blonde, raising her chin in defiance, deliberately ignoring the Doctor's whoop of excitement. Unknown to Scaramouche, the Doctor was excited as he had worked out which time period it was he had landed in. This was the very start of the Bohemian Revolution, which lead to the new Golden Age of Planet Earth, as they united under rock'n'roll. And there he was, standing in the presence of the Dreamer and his bad-assed babe, two members of what would long be proclaimed as one of the greatest rock bands of all time. But how was Scaramouche to know that? So she did what she thought best and ignored him. At least, she ignored him at first. "OI! MAN CHILD!" she bellowed at him, shutting him up effectively as he turned to stare at her. "Much better," she remarked, turning back once more to Meat. "Well?" she asked, gaining a beaming grin from the blonde.

"Then understand this," Brit said, talking to Galileo, Scaramouche mostly, but also including the Doctor in his eye view. "If you come with us, if you join the Bohemians, there's no way back to GaGa Land. You'll be an outcast forever, no longer a member of the Cons-Human Race," he warned them, clearly giving them the opportunity to back out if they so wished it. The Doctor didn't move, he had turned his back on his own society long ago, so the speech didn't apply to him. He watched as Galileo and Scaramouche exchanged the briefest of looks, silently agreeing.

"Sounds perfect," Scaramouche grinned. "Let's go!"

**XXX**

The Heartbreak Hotel was one of those places that the Doctor felt would never leave his memory. It had been filled to the brim with people, all of whom shared a common interest and goal, but who didn't resort to the more violent methods to obtain it as he might have expected from humans. There had been many introductions, and many explanations, and the Doctor had been given the chance to study a small selection of the texts which the Bohemians revered so much. He had been somewhat surprised to see that they consisted of posters and old magazine for the most part, but there were snippets of diaries, and old autobiographies of rock stars he knew, or should it be had known considering the time period he was in?

He had only looked up from his reading at the sound of loud alarms, or perhaps sirens was a better word for them, echoing through the old tube station causing a loud shiver to go running down his spine. He stood, looking around at the panic of the Bohemians, and had quickly walked over to join Meat and Brit, silently conversing with Brit - who was an expert at it - about the situation. A simple gesture cleared up the matter: Police.

"So, finally I'm checking into the Heartbreak Hotel," a loud baritone voice boomed throughout the platform, drawing everyone's attention, though it was hard to take their eyes from the police officers who stood surrounding them, laser guns held threateningly. The Doctor stood, hands raised.

"I think we should all -" he began, before the baritone voice interrupted once again, ignoring him completely.

"So, Mr McCartney," the voice, which as the Doctor was quickly told, belong to head of the secret police, a Commander Khashoggi, said to the Bohemian known as Big Macca, who was nice, if a bit too convinced of his own importance. "I say hello, you say goodbye," Khashoggi taunted, to the disgust of the Bohemians who yelled furiously at the man.

"NO!" Brit's voiced echoed about all the others, as he glared furiously at Khashoggi, filled with righteous anger. "You'll never take the Dreamer while I'm alive!" he insisted. Khashoggi laughed, as the Bohemians were all pushed back by the police holding the guns, and imprisoned in a portable laser cage. The Doctor frowned, having been convinced these had been outlawed by the Shadow Proclamation only 50 years before the current time period. Why was it that humans never bothered to check up on the latest inter-galactic laws? The Doctor found himself pushed in beside Meat in the cage, watching as she glared murderously towards the nearest police person.

"And you'll never escape the laser cage," Khashoggi taunted. The Doctor's hand twitched, moving quickly towards his pocket, pulling out his sonic screwdriver, a number of different ways to remove the cage running through his mind. But it was all too late, as Brit, through pure adrenaline alone, had pushed his way through the laser bars, standing outside the cage, breathing heavily.

"Galileo! Scaramouche!" he called to the two teens, who were being held by a pair of police outside the cage. "The future of rock lies with you!" he yelled, turning round, and with a stick he had acquired at some point during the evening, broke the jaw of the nearest police officer to him. After that, it was utter chaos, with the Bohemians cheering Brit on loudly, and Khashoggi laughing manically over the top of all the racket. No one seemed to notice Galileo and Scaramouche, having managed to break free of their captors, quickly making their way out of the Heartbreak, Galileo turning back worriedly, concerned for the new friend he had made. Then it happened so quickly that had the Doctor blinked, he would have missed it all.

A laser gun fired, and all went silent. Then came the blood chilling, heartbroken scream from Meat, mixed with the shocked yell of the Dreamer "NO!"

The Doctor could do nothing but watch, as the still figure of Britney Spears fell backwards, dead.

**XXX**

It was many hours later when the Doctor came to in his prison cell. He sat up with a short groan, a hand reaching up to rub at his forehead. He looked around, the memories of the previous few hours rushing back to him. "Why brainwashing helmets?" he groaned lightly, remembering what it was that had lead towards his current headache. Brainwashing helmets would do what they were designed to on humans, but he was anything but human, and had simply ended up with a killer headache. Killer … the word echoed in his mind as his eyes closed in a silent moment of grief, as he quietly gave some time to mourn the loss of Brit.

After a minute or two, the Doctor stood, a new fire in his eyes. He couldn't bring Brit back, and he couldn't cross his own time line to prevent the death, but he could sure as hell make sure that what Brit had died for happened: he would help the Dreamer, and bring down Globalsoft. He began checking through his pockets quickly, grateful to find that the police officers hadn't taken his sonic screwdriver from him, perhaps they had thought it nothing more than a toy. Whatever the reason, he wasn't about to judge it. He moved quickly, unlocking his own cell and looking about him, trying to find anyone else who was awake.

He found one, in the cell at the far end of the block. Miss Meat Loaf sat, staring at the wall with a distant, emotionless look. The Doctor paused, wondering if he should, but ultimately knowing that if he didn't, he would be committing a great disservice towards Brit. With a soft sigh, he opened the door to Meat's cell, walking inside and kneeling down in front of her. She stared up at him, eyes wide but unseeing. "I'm so sorry," he told her, placing his fingers to her temple, searching through her memories, bring her back.

With a gasp she returned, leaning heavily against the Doctor's arms, the gasping continuing, mixing with heartbroken tears as she remembered everything that had happened that night. "Oh god, Brit," she sobbed into the Doctor's coat, her shoulder's shaking, and her cries echoing off the stone walls.

"I'm so sorry, but you can't mourn right now," the Doctor said, as kindly as he could managed. "But come with me, and we'll make sure his death wasn't in vain," he promised her, holding out his hand as he stood up. Meat stared at the hand for a moment, still kneeling on the cold, stone floor of the cell, before taking it, using it to help stand herself upright.

"F'r Brit," she agreed, wiping her eyes of the remaining tears, a hard look fixing itself upon her face.

**XXX**

"You know, for a world wide company with knowledge of pretty much everything that goes on they don't really protect their main servers all that much," the Doctor commented lightly, sounding almost disappointed with how easy it had been to find the location of the main Globalsoft servers. Meat gave a loud tut.

"'Course they ain't well protected," she told the Doctor. "Globalsucks thin' nae-one will rise against 'em," she said, shrugging slightly. "Bohemians were a glitch in their system far as their concerned," she added lightly, shifting another broken down keyboard out of her way. "Wha' exactly is it we're lookin' f'r Doctor?" she asked, looking at the room with a loud hint of distaste.

"I'm looking …" the Doctor began, stopping with a grin as he found the cabinet he had been searching for. "For this," he told Meat, gesturing for her to join him. "This acts as … well a power source in a sense," he explain as best he could. "Because like you said, Bohemians are a glitch in the system right?" Meat nodded, unsure as to where the Doctor was heading with this. "That's because layered under all the transmission from Globalsoft is a hidden message, that sinks into your subconscious," there was a pause as he turned to look the cabinet again. "It was a favoured method of an old enemy of mine, and if I didn't know better, I'd say he was behind it," he admitted with a small shrug of his shoulders.

"So we do wha' wi' this information?" she asked, staring at the Doctor. He gave her a grin.

"Luckily I'm very, very brilliant, and it's because I'm very, very brilliant that I'm able to reprogram the underlying message," he explained to Meat, who grinned back, "just enough to give people the freedom to chose," he stopped, staring at the cabinet with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Oh, wha' now?" Meat snapped. The Doctor continued to stare.

"It needs a trigger something … hang on … can you hear that?" he asked, pausing. Meat frowned, nodding and trying to place why the noise sounded familiar to her. At the same moment they both turned, staring at the computer behind them, which had been left open to what looked like the feed from a security camera. On screen they could see Galileo, Scaramouche, and an old man who Galileo called Pop, standing at the gates of Wembley, slowly pulling the long sought after guitar from the rock.

"They do exist," Meat breathed, her eyes glistening happily. The Doctor watched the screen, taking in the actions of everyone, noticing when Pop pulled out an old, but still working, digital pad which had internet link up.

"That's it!" he yelled, causing Meat to jump. She had been so immersed in the sight of the guitar that all other thoughts had left her mind. "That's the trigger! That email Pop's sending!" the Doctor explained, as he rapidly programmed at twice the speed that Pop could type.

"Better hurry Doctor, the old fogey's gettin' tae the end o' 'is email," she said, keeping an eye on the proceedings carefully. At the same moment Pop pressed enter, the Doctor let out a triumphant yell, hitting the button which was effectively enter, his new programming of the underlying message mixing with Pop's worldwide email, which was, one by one, being opened by GaGa kids all over the planet, all receiving the power of rock, mixed with the subconscious, reassuring message that it was okay to like it … it was okay to like anything you wanted to …

**XXX**

The party afterwards had been unlike anything the Bohemians had every seen before in their life, with newly 'awakened' GaGa kids joining them. As the Doctor explain, the Seven Seas bar had an automatic link up to the Globalsoft servers, and they were aware of what was going on, even if they couldn't process it. The new message, mixed with the mind altering power most decent music had, managed to restore their minds to their previous states, though he added that they should possibly lay off any illegal substances for a short period of time. And maybe not drink as much.

Meat stood on the outskirts of the party, nursing a bottle of beer, and grinning sadly in at her friends. The Doctor joined her, standing beside her silently. It was a few moments before Meat broke the silence, though her voice was soft, no where near as loud as it had first been when the Doctor encountered her. "This was all 'e wanted," she let out a bitter laugh. "'Is dream came soddin' true and 'e ain't even here tae see it."

The Doctor looked at her, a kind smile on his face. "He'll be remembered you know? You all will," he told Meat, turning out to look at the sky, with her following his actions. "In years to come, spread out all across the skies, there'll be species singing about your story Meat, about his story."

"No gonna brin' 'im bac' though, is it?" she added sadly, turning to look at the Doctor with wide eyes. He shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he said simply. There was a few moments silence, where the Doctor made no remark to the soft sniffs and sobs coming from Meat, something which she was grateful for. Eventually she looked up, wiping the last few tears from her face.

"So, wha' about you? Wha' next f'r the great Doctor?" she asked, attempting a half grin. The Doctor gave a half grin back.

"Oh, just travelling," he answered her. "The same old life." She nodded, accepting his answer. There was another few moments silence, before Meat turned to look at the Doctor once more.

"C'n I come?"


	2. Regeneration

_**A/N:**__ In light of the recent Doctor Who casting news, I thought that we should discover our dear Miss Loaf's reaction to the Doctor's regeneration.

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**Regeneration**

It had been an interesting battle, at least, that was the word that came to mind for Meat, but it was the after-effects that had won the day. The Doctor, sweating and shaking and over-emoting - something Meat had often pulled him up for, that and the constant angst demeanour he put on - had informed her that he was about to regenerate. Now, contrary to popular belief, Meat wasn't daft. Oh, her knowledge of history may have been misinformed, but that didn't mean she was daft. One thing she had been particularly good at, apart from hairdressing and art, was science. Or more specifically biology, which meant that she had - compared to the Doctor at least - a basic knowledge of what the term regeneration meant when applied to a humanoid body.

She was pretty sure her sciences lessons had never mention of a volcano like explosion in the context of regeneration though …

When it was over, where there once had been a bit-too-skinny, brown with too much gel haired Doctor stood … well … someone different, but with a strong sense of familiarity.

"Ooft," the Doctor said, in a slightly softer voice than usual, "that's a pain," he stretched his neck, leaning his head to the side. "New voice," he noticed. "…Younger voice," he added after a moment's thought. He looked up, and grinned at Meat, an action which made his face seem younger and older at the same time. "What d'ya think?"

Meat blinked for a moment, then shook her head, focusing on studying the new Doctor. After a few moments she looked up, and grinned at him. "Definitely cute," she told him. He grinned, moving his head slightly, causing a mop of hair to flop into his eyes.

"Oh I have hair," he said, his hands going up to pull at the hair. "_Big_ hair," he added after a few moments of ruffling up his own hair. Meat, still grinning, wandered over, choosing to run her fingers through the hair.

"I like it," she told him, her grin matching his own, "it's very fluffy." The Doctor grinned.

"Then the hair is cool," he agreed, pulling his hands away from it. He caught sight of his fingers, flexing them a few times. "Oh, I have crazy," he flexed his fingers again, "crazy," once more, "_crazy_ hands," he beamed at Meat, who let out a short laugh.,

"Crazy hands," she agreed.

"Big hair and crazy hands," the Doctor mused. "I think I'm going to like this regeneration."


	3. Frustration

_**A/N:**__ New chapter! Just a little introspective. There's a chapter coming that's directly related to this one ... so we'll see how long it'll take to get that. But yeah, from now on Meat is travelling with the Eleventh Doctor ... let's see how that'll work out ((grin))

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**Frustration**

She couldn't understand, not properly anyway, but she attempts to anyway. He's her friend, and she knows he's so very old, but looks so very young. For the most part he enjoys this, exclaiming loudly at his pleasure about being asked for identification to prove his 'age' - it had never happened to any of his past regenerations; not even his fifth regeneration - who he still had a fondness for; though he was deeply cynical of the use of decorative vegetables.

But then there are times when it frustrates him, being so old and yet trapped in so young a body. All authority, fire and ice and rage, commanding and clear, but with no one willing to listen, no one to fall in line with his words as he spoke them, even when that was what the situation called for the most. His voice rises, yelling over those who are seen as the ones in the know, the commanding officers, but he is stared down, ignored when they needed to listen to him the most, costing lives that might have been saved.

It _frustrates _him so, and, although she couldn't understand properly, she tried to.

He's her friend


	4. Dancing

_**A/N: **__Yes I am going with the Moffat double meaning for a title.

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**Dancing**

It had been another one of those days, with another world being threatened, and the Doctor and her showing up to save the day. Except people wouldn't listen to the Doctor when they needed to, leading to people dying, and it being almost too late to set things right.

Not to mention, she had nearly died. That had really annoyed the Doctor.

They sat in a back room, just down the corridor from the console room, surrounded by bottles, drinking deeply. The Doctor had brought out some drink, bright green and tasted like a mix of vodka, whiskey, and rum, only nice. They had worked their way through two large bottles each, and this mixture happened to be strong, so they were both fairly intoxicated by this point.

"S'never happened 'fore," the Doctor slurred slightly, looking down at Meat, who was resting her head in his lap, through heavily lidded eyes. "'v'ryone always listens … not nice when they don't listen," he pouted; something which he would never do normally, but he was drunk, so threw away any of the careful masks he had built up before.

Meat giggles at the pout, finding it a mixture of adorable and ridiculous on the Time Lord's young face, her hand raising to play with the edges of his hair, still determinedly flopping into his eyes. He looked down, smiling softly. "Fluffy," she told him, grinning way. "Like it. Nice."

"You're nice," the Doctor replied, his own fingers twisting and twirling a strand of the blonde's hair around them. "Nice Meat, sweet Meat," he grinned, a soft giggle coming from him.

"Cute Doctor," Meat nodded. "Verra, verra cute." By this time the alcohol was hitting them both hard, and Meat slid a little as she pushed herself up, draping her arms over the Doctor's shoulders, who looked at them curiously before looking straight into Meat's face. It was, his drunken mind decided, a very nice face to look at. His sober mind had noticed this as well, but it seemed like he was only properly noticing it now, it didn't really matter either way, he had decided that her face was a nice face to look at.

"You cute too," he nodded, smiling in a different way to usual. Meat beamed at the compliment, leaning forward and kissing him for it promptly. There was a pause at they both stared at each other, leaning in once more …

**XXX**

Meat woken with her bed empty, her clothes scattered on the floor - though that was normal for her - and a hangover cure sitting beside her bed. She smiled softly, dressing after taking the cure, and wandering through the corridors of the Tardis until she found herself in the control room. The Doctor had his back facing her, bent over the console, working on something that she had no clue of. "Hey," she said softly, tapping him on the shoulder. The Doctor turned to face her, blushing and ducking his head slightly. "Thanks for the hangover cure."

"Meat, about last night," he begins, pausing, unsure as what to say.

"Doctor," Meat grins at him, holding up a hand and stopping him from continuing. "I'm a serial monogamist, faithful to whoever I currently happen to be in bed with," she shrugged lightly. "It was fun, an' if it happens again, it happens again," she spoke softly, grinning at him all the time. "We're friends, yeah?"

The Doctor beamed, "I could use a friend."


	5. Dr Horrible

_**A.N: **__I guess I should dedicate this chapter to xXGagaGirlXx for introducing me to Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. Which then got me started on the idea of wondering what it would be like if Meat and the Doctor met with Captain Hammer, which turned into a whole crossover on the thing. And since I'm dedicating this chapter to xXGagaGirlXx I should also dedicate many of the ideas of Rock the Tardis to MissLoaf91, who helps me create a lot of these fun ideas. So, on with the fic

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**Dr. Horrible**

A beep issued from the screen on the console. "Oh, 'ello," the Doctor said, leaning over and reading the details. "That's … interesting. Slightly worrying, but interesting," he muttered, beginning to set the Tardis controls to the coordinates he was being shown on screen.

"Slightly worrying, but interesting?" Meat sounded amused. "Doctor, why do I have the feelin' you're gonna be dragging us into yet another dangerous situation without thinkin' 'bout what the consequences could be?" she asked. The Doctor blinked, turning to look at her.

"Because life would be boring otherwise?" he suggested. Meat considered this answer, nodding her agreement after a moment. "Anyway, I'm only going to pick something up," he explained to her. "Somehow, a batch of wonderflonium has ended up in 21st century United States of America," he said, "and considering how volatile the Earth is a on normal basis, I'd rather have the dangerous substance where I know it'll not cause an explosion or two," he said then paused. "Well … it's not that dangerous but still not something I'd like to have on 21st century Earth."

"… Wonderflonium. Sounds a bit … crap," Meat said, frowning slightly. "Summat a kid would make up playing games," she added to explain her statement a little further. "But," she sighed, stopping the Doctor from rambling as he usually did, though he had gotten a little better on this in his new regeneration, "if you're concerned then that means its dangerous an' I don't wanna be to blame for a dangerous substance destroyin' my planet," she grinned at him. "Onwards Doctor!"

The Doctor grinned back, slamming at the Tardis controls. He began taping rapidly at the screen. "If the Tardis can locate who might take it, that would give us a little bit of an edge, we could go direct to the source, so to speak," he rambled, laughing happily as a face appeared on screen.

His laughter stopped as he realised it was an internet video blog. By a 'super-villain' named Dr. Horrible. Who just happened to be singing

"You're kidding," Meat couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "You're telling me that the cute blonde guy could destroy the world if he gets his hands on this wonderflonium stuff?"

"…Yeah," the Doctor replied, his face set, watching the man with a sense of what could be referred to as slight worry, though it turned to confusion after a minute. "At least, … that's how it seems."

"You've been watchin' too much telly Doctor," she grinned. "Look at him!" she said, waving her hand at the screen. "He's so little an' adorable," she said, pausing before turning to him, "C'n we keep him?"

"Meat, we don't even know him," the Doctor sighed. "It could be that he's just a hired hand in all this," he said thoughtfully. "Might not really know what wonderflonium could do." He blinked, sighing, twisting a dial on the Tardis console. "But it's better to be safe than sorry."

**XXX**

Billy barely noticed as the tall, thin man fell into step beside him, or the blonde woman beside him. He was furious with himself, at what he had done. A more rational part of his mind, well evil at any rate, was suggesting to him in a low, melodious voice that perhaps it should be Penny and Hammer he should direct his anger at. Hammer was easy to direct his anger at, he could never find a reason to agree with the man, but Penny, his dear sweet Penny …

"Hullo," the man beside him grinned at him. "I'm the Doctor, and I'm afraid I'll need to take that box from you." Billy stopped in his tracks, turning to stare at the man, who looked as though he was only just out of his teens. The blonde beside him was quite pretty, though no where near as beautiful as his, _never_ Hammer's, Penny.

"Get lost kid," he sneered as nastily as he could manage at him which, given his current anger, was very nastily indeed. But what else could be expected from one who had a PhD in Horrible-ness?

"Oh that wasn't very nice," the Doctor responded, still smiling at Billy. "What do you think Meat?"

"Definitely not nice," Meat agreed. "So what's with the lab coat and funky looking goggles then?" she asked Billy, reaching over to pull at the goggles. Billy ducked out of the way.

"I don't do _nice_," he said. "I'm Dr. Horrible, and I have a PhD in Horrible-ness!" he declared, much to the amusement of the Doctor, who let out a soft chuckle. "You dare to laugh at me?" Billy threatened - well, said fircely at him. He couldn't quite threaten people.

"Yes," the Doctor told him, giving what seemed to be a smirk. "But only because the only university that gives out doctorates in Horrible-ness isn't due to open for another 150 years," he explained, the smirk turning into an easy smile. "So Dr. Horrible would be…?"

Billy stared at the man, who had destroyed his catchphrase within a few seconds. It had taken him weeks to come up with a catchphrase that didn't sound wrong when it he said it; but carried enough evil behind it. The man, who called himself the Doctor, grinned back at him. As Billy had previously noted, he was young in the face, but staring at him now, Billy realised that the Doctor's eyes were so very old, filled with something that scared the villain, but only slightly of course, and sent a chilling shiver down his spine.

So maybe this indefinable thing scared him more than slightly.

"Dr. Horrible is going," he told the Doctor, storming past him and the blonde, wonderflonium in hand, wanting to get away from the young man with the old eyes which hid something terrifying. Meat frowned at his back, stepping forward as if to go after him, but finding herself stopped by the Doctor's out-stretched hand.

"Doctor?" she questioned him, confused as to why he wasn't going after him.

"Just … " the Doctor paused, not quite knowing himself why he wasn't charging after Dr. Horrible. "Later Meat, I'll get it later."

**XXX**

"Hullo Billy."

Billy turned, somehow knowing who it was that the voiced belonged too, and unsurprised that he had worked out his civilian identity. "Doctor," he said shortly, his voice clipped, looking around. "No blonde tonight?" he asked, his eyebrow raised. The Doctor gave a soft smile.

"There was a poster advertising a band playing tonight," he gave a shrug. "Meat finds it hard to pass up the chance to see a good band live," he explained carefully. "So it's just me you'll be talking with. Problem?" he challenged.

"Not at all," Billy replied evenly. He continued down his path, the Doctor falling back into step beside him, a silence coming between the two.

"I've been hearing a lot about you Billy," the Doctor said eventually. "And I've been watching Dr. Horrible's blog," he added, turning his head slightly to study Billy's features with a curious air. "You've got so much potential, you know that?" he said to him, smiling, "why waste it on being evil?"

"I want to make something with my life Doctor," Billy replied, "I want to change the status not-so-quo," he said, "I want to make the world better." The Doctor nodded slightly.

"I believe that Billy wants to change the world for the better," he said, his sentence coming out in a way that made sure every single word was clearly heard, as if each word carried some importance on its own. "But what about Dr. Horrible?" Billy stopped in his tracks, frowning at the statement. The Doctor turned to face him, standing in front of him. "Billy, you have potential, don't let Dr. Horrible steal it from you," the Doctor said softly. Billy didn't answer him, returning to walking deliberately forward. The Doctor sighed, following him.

"Any dolt with half a brain can see that humankind has gone insane," Billy told him as they walked down the street, "to the point where I don't know if I'll upset the status quo if I throw poison in the water main," he said, frowning deeply. The Doctor didn't reply, knowing that this was not Billy wanting to have a discussion, but trying to explain Dr Horrible's motives. "Listen close to everyone's heart, and hear that breaking sound," Billy spat, sounding both annoying and angry at the same time. "Hopes and dreams are shattering apart and crashing to the ground." There was a pause as Billy turned, staring in at a scene through an open window. The Doctor turned to look as well. Inside sat a couple, the male he recognised from various press shots connected to Dr Horrible as being Captain Hammer, though he couldn't place the female. "I cannot believe my eyes," Billy said, though the Doctor wasn't quite sure to what Billy was referring. "How the world's filled with filth and lies," there was a pause, and Billy muttered something, quietly, but loud enough for the Doctor to hear it. "But it's plain to see, evil inside of me is on the rise."

The silence between the two returned with a sudden force, the Doctor staring at Billy with a sudden wave of concern. He opened his mouth, hoping for something, anything, comforting to come forth, when Billy turned and looked up at him. "Here's where I have to leave you tonight Doctor," he said, forcing a smile. "I wonder if we'll met again," his statement was accompanied by a rather weak laugh, as he walked away. The Doctor stood for a few minutes, his mind thinking over what it was that Billy had said to him, before turning, making his way back to the Tardis.

"Anyone with half a brain, could spend their life howling in pain," he muttered softly, semi-agreeing with what Billy had been saying before, if only through hundreds of years of being forced to see the truth of too many worlds. "Because the dark seems to come from everywhere," he added, looking around as if to prove his point. "But Billy, you don't seem to care, that soon the dark in you is all that will remain."

**XXX**

"Why would you throw a car at someone's head?!" the Doctor asked the posing, and incredibly muscular man standing in front of him. It had been a few days since he had last spoken to Billy, and he and Meat had begun travelling again, both keeping a close eye on the blog posts. They had been more than slightly worried for the man they had somehow come to consider a friend when he had posted a blog mentioning that Captain Hammer, his nemesis, had thrown a car at his head.

Hence the current situation actually … and the Doctor wishing he had really thought this through.

"Why don't you come back to my place with me," Hammer was saying, posturing and posing in front of Meat, who happened to be looking as though she had dyed her favourite t-shirt and the result was something that she couldn't tell if she liked or not. "I'll show you my hammer," he smiled a rather unpleasant smirk of a smile.

It was then, while Meat was obviously trying to decide whether or not to kick Captain Hammer where it was sure to hurt, super powers or not, that Hammer turned to the Doctor, who had been glaring at his attempts at flirting with Meat, with a superior smirk. "These are not the hammer," he told the Time Lord, holding his fists up. "The hammer is my penis."

"Is it?" Meat's voice could be hear very clearly, causing Hammer to turn and watch as she smirk, her tongue firmly in her cheek, a wiggle in her walk as she strutted up to the Doctor, leaning on him with a sense of familiarity that oozed the sex appeal that Meat was so infamous for back with the Bohemians. "You wanna get that checked love, sounds like you've caught summat nasty."

Hammer's face fell, a scowl appearing on it, mixing with a clearly jealous glare towards the Doctor, mostly due to Meat's affectionate nature towards him. "What do you want anyway?" he snapped at the Doctor, who was biting back a laugh.

"To know why you threw a car at someone's head," he said as polite a tone as he could manage. Hammer rolled his eyes.

"Simple, he's the villain, and I'm the hero," he answered in an obnoxious tone of voice. "What else was I meant to do?" The Doctor blinked, a thousand different answers running through his head, not quite sure what one would come to his lips first.

"Not throw a car?" Meat suggested in a sweet tone, causing Captain Hammer's already slightly dangerous scowl to deepen, making the Doctor take a small step backwards. He had picked up on some signs of danger in over 900 years of phone box travel after all. Hammer turned towards the Doctor, staring at him slightly.

"Doctor … what was it now?" he asked.

"Just the Doctor," the Doctor replied, wondering just where Captain Hammer's thoughts had lead him to. "Is it important?" he asked warily, slightly fearing what the answer could be.

"It's just that one of my most deadly foes is known only as the Doctor," Hammer said casually, "a master of disguise, he could be standing right before me," the scowl had turned into a smirk, one that was filled with danger. "And in that case, I would have to protect myself," he said, still casually, his fingers flexing, as he turned to a parked car which just happened to be parked beside him. "No one could blame a hero for protecting himself against a villain," he added.

The Doctor stood still for only a moment. "Tardis, _now_," he whispered to Meat, turning and running. He could hear the creaking of the metal frame of the car as Hammer picked it up, and dropped to the ground in time to see it fly past him. If he hadn't dropped when it did it would have hit him. Standing up, and dusting himself, he quickly made his way back to the Tardis. Meat - who had ran a different way from him, and had made it back quicker, stared.

"Y'alright Doctor?" she asked, concerned for her friend. He nodded, though his eyes were wide and confused. "What happened?" she asked, touching his shoulder, knowing that reminding him that someone else was there with him often helped to bring him out of any stupors. He looked up, blinking slightly in shock.

"He threw a _car_ at my _head_!"

**XXX**

It had been nearly two months since he had last seen Billy when they heard the news. They had been checking the blog daily, or regularly at least, time being a relative concept when travelling through the vortex, and was surprised to see a new update from his friend Moist, declaring his joy at his friend's entrance to the Evil League of Evil after managing to kill Captain Hammer's girlfriend Penny. The Doctor had done some research, coming across a television camera's footage of the incident rather too easily. Many news programs had been along filming the event, and they had hidden the footage clumsily. Watching the footage, he realised what had happened. It was glaringly obvious really.

He sighed somewhat sadly, typing in the consoles to a place that he _really _didn't having to visit. He had been there too many times in his own personal past, mostly due to the Master's own fascination with the place.

**XXX**

"Hullo Billy."

Dr Horrible turned to stare at the thin man, who was leaning against a blue wooden box. "Doctor," he replied in a tone that was leagues different to the one he had used on their previous meetings. A cold sneer crossed over his features. "Afraid Billy's not here at the moment, only Dr Horrible," he told him, with a cruel chuckle. "What's a do-gooder like you doing at the Evil League of Evil?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him for a moment. The Doctor looked at him sadly, those old eyes that had scared Billy expressing a sorrow that Dr Horrible would never admit to feeling.

"I came to say goodbye to Billy," he explained softly. "He had so much potential," he gave out a rather bitter laugh, "I was willing to let him come with me, take him somewhere where he would be appreciated for his inventions, the almost pacifist like nature of them," he said, his gaze dropping to the floor. "I would have stopped this happening to you Billy, if only I knew."

"Well you couldn't" the bitterness of the statement was absolutely from Billy, causing the Doctor to snap his head up, seeing the goggles in the man's hands. "She … It …" his voice faltered slightly, unable to focus on what it was he wanted to say, as though the Dr Horrible persona were preventing him from saying it.

"I know," the Doctor said simply. He looked towards the ground again, before looking back up. "Good luck to you Billy, I hope … " he trailed off not knowing what to say. He forced out a smile. "It was nice to have met you Billy." Billy nodded, slipping the goggles back on, this time pulling them fully over there eyes.

Billy was forever lost. Now the nightmare was real, Dr Horrible was there.

**XXX**

"I couldn't help him."

"You can't save everyone Doctor," Meat said softly to the brooding Time Lord, as they sat in the library of the Tardis. "I think trying to would cause you to actually die," she added, sighing when she realised he wasn't actually listening to her. "Doctor, he loved her, and when people lose the ones they love," her voice cracked, somewhat painfully. She coughed, forcing back the tears that always threatened to come when she thought about Brit. "When people lose the ones they love, it's awful. They're broken inside, and would do anything to rid themselves of that pain," she said softly. "Maybe becoming Dr Horrible is the only way for Billy to mourn right now," she suggested, "it doesn't necessarily mean he'll be Dr Horrible forever." There was a pause, as she thought what else to say. Eventually she shrugged. "You just have to have faith in the human race, isn't that what you're always telling me?" she said, leaning forward and dropping a soft kiss on to his forehead, ruffling his hair as she stood and left the library.

The Doctor remained, sitting on his favourite seat, staring into the mid-space, his thoughts on his friend, and the evil he became.


	6. Donna Noble Has Been Saved

_**A/N:**__ Because each Donna Noble now comes with one thousand percent more awesome

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**Donna Noble Has Been Saved**

"Doctor, have you been up all night again?" Meat asked, sticking her head into the library, where it was almost guaranteed she would find the Doctor if he wasn't in the main console room. He turned, blinking at Meat slightly, as if he had not expected to see her there. "I bloody told you to go get some sleep," she said.

"I don't need to sleep as often as you do Meat," the Doctor pointed out. Meat glared.

"You've said," she remarked dryly. "Point still stands you haven't slept in about two weeks, what are you working on that's so interesting?" she asked, leaning over his shoulder to look at the scrap pieces of paper he had been scribbling on.

"You remember me telling you about my friend Donna?" he said. Meat paused, nodding after a moment's thought. "Well, I've been thinking about it. There had to be a better way than just removing her memories, something that would allow her to be as brilliant as she wanted to be, without her head burning up," he explained, then paused staring at the paper. "I've worked out how to do it."

There was silence for a moment or two, before Meat turned to the Doctor. "So, we're gonna go get her right?"

The Doctor grinned.

**XXX**

After the Doctor had managed - somewhat - to convince Wilf and Sylvia that he wasn't going to cause Donna's head to go all "'splodey", as Meat put it, they allowed him to see Donna. They had been more than surprised to see his new face, but Wilf had been quick to guess that it was some 'alien thing,' and believed straight away it was still the same man. He explained his belief as being something about the way the Doctor carried himself, and that it didn't change.

This was part of the reason Meat declared Wilf as 'adorable,' asking if she could please keep him. The Doctor had stared for a few minutes, before turning to Wilf, silently asking his opinion on the matter. Wilf had simply laughed, and patted Meat on her arm, calling her a 'sweet girl,' before wandering off to the living room. The Doctor had smiled slightly, pulling on Meat's arm to get her to follow him into the kitchen. A few moments later, Donna entered.

The Doctor couldn't help but break into a huge grin on seeing his friend. She was looking well, in a rather stylish, slightly low cut top that had Meat staring, open mouthed at Donna, rather like a hormonal teenage boy. Donna frowned. "You gonna get Blondie to shut up mouth, emo boy?" she snapped at the Doctor, who leaned across the table, pushing under Meat's chin to get her to close her mouth.

"Do I know you anyway?" Donna asked, staring at him suspiciously. Her granddad had mentioned to her that friends of his were sitting in the kitchen, and could she keep them busy until he found what it was he had been meaning to show them. On looking at the pair, she began wondering how it was that her granddad knew these people, and couldn't help but worry slightly that they were out to trick him.

"You do," the male told her, smiling in a way that suggested a great loss. Donna frowned, she didn't know this man, and couldn't think why he might suggest that she did. "Donna, Donna Noble, the most important woman in all of creation," he said softly, still smiling, "_I am the Doctor._"

There was a few minutes of silence, as Donna stared at him, her eyebrow raised in a mocking gesture. "Doctor, don't be …" she gasped, as the memories came back, forcing their way into her mind, causing her to clutch at her head in pain. The Doctor's eyes widened, as he froze in his spot. He hadn't expected, or perhaps forgotten would be a better word, Donna to be in this much pain, and he had caused it. Meat rolled her eyes, clipping him over the back of his head.

"Quick then Doctor, get 'er a cup o' tea!"

**XXX**

"So, if all I needed was a cup of tea," Donna asked in an all too casual tone, "why the hell didn't you just give me one in the first place!" The Doctor shrunk in his seat slightly, wondering why he had considered restoring her memories so important. Well, of course it was important to him, of course it was, he just didn't expect to be yelled at.

"… My last regeneration was prone to being emo at times?" he shrugged pathetically, coming up with an explanation at the top of his head. Meat laughed, and turned to Donna.

"'E means 'e was a stupid prat, an' 'e begs yer forgiveness luv," she grinned at Donna. Having explained what it was the Doctor meant, she leaned over to Donna, smiling rather slyly, "By the way, has anyone ever congratulated you on that fantastic pair of brea…"

"_Any_way," the Doctor cut in quickly, knowing that whatever Meat was going to say would most likely start Donna off on a rant again, "don't suppose you might consider … well … I wouldn't want to put you out, but if you wanted to …"

"Spit it out Space Boy," Donna smirked at the Doctor, finding enjoyment in seeing him squirm, something that had been near impossible at times in his last regeneration - and wasn't she grateful her newly restored Time Lord mind allowed her to understand that concept with the greatest of ease.

"Don'tsuppooseyouwanttocomewtravellingagainintheTardiswithmeandMeat?" he breathed. Both Meat and Donna blinked, exchanging glances before bursting into laughter.

"Oh 'e's no done that in a while," Meat grinned, "but I agree, coming wi' us?" Donna considered the matter, finishing off her cup of tea.

"I'll just pack my bags."


	7. The Curious Case of Drax Loaf

_**A/N:**__ ... Yeah ... Erm ... don't want to say too much except this is the start of an arc... on we go

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**The Curious Case of Drax Loaf**

"Why doesn't Earth get weather like this?" Donna said, leaning back in one of the deckchairs they had rented out , closing her eyes and smiling widely, enjoying the feel of the warm rays beaming down on to her face. They were on the planet of PhiBeta, famous for its relatively safe UV and long, picturesque summers. Donna had demanded that the Doctor bring them there after almost dying again when faced with a species who looked like overgrown sea monkeys, the king of whom the Doctor accidentally-on-purpose offended.

"It does in my time," Meat commented lightly, stretched out on the chair beside her, enjoying the few moments of quiet, as they rarely got them when travelling with the Doctor "'Cept it's all artificially created," she added with a small shrug.

"I mean in my time Blondie," Donna rolled her eyes, laughing. "All well and good it been three hundred blinkin' years in my future, but how is that going to help me have a natural back in Chiswick?" she asked. The Doctor stood to the side, looking bored, his scuffed sneakers - he had opted not to change from the rubber soles in his new regeneration, as they had been very practical as well as comfortable - kicking at the ground.

"Aw, look, our little alien is all bored," Meat teased lightly, grinning over at him. "Can you not just enjoy the peace for a little bit Doctor? Might even get a tan?"

"Him? Tan?" Donna laughed loudly. "Got to be joking. You'd think he was allergic to the sun, the amount of time he spends under than console." The Doctor chose not to respond to this, continuing to kick the ground in boredom. She sighed. "Well go get us some ice creams then, if you're so bored."

On the mention of the sugary treats the Doctor broke into a wide grin. "Ice cream. I can do that. Ice creams, and maybe even jelly babies. Do you think they sell jelly babies here? Used to always have a packet on me back in my fourth regeneration. Haven't had any since my eighth … must see about getting some …" Donna and Meat exchanged glances as he continued, apparently in a little world of his own.

"Don't worry, I'll go with him," Meat sighed, standing up and moving over to the Doctor. "Come on then Doctor man," she said, pulling him by his arms, "delicious iced treats await us." The ice cream stand - or at least the equivalent of it on PhiBeta - was a short walk away from where they had set up the deckchairs, so it didn't take Meat and the Doctor long to purchase three ice cream cones. On the way back to Donna, the Doctor paused to tie his shoelace, which could take half an hour for him. Meat decided to wait, glad that they had thought to get an ice cream holder to carry the cones back in. A kindly looking old man stepped in front of Meat.

"Such a pretty girl," he said, smiling at her. Meat smiled back.

"Thanks," she grinned. Something about this man reminded her a little bit of Pop, just a little bit.

"You try this," he suggested to her, holding forward a cup of a rather nice pink shade of liquid. Meat looked at him quizzically. "Is good. Very healthy," he assured her. Meat smiled widely, taking it from him, as she would have felt rude not to.

"Cheers then funky old dude," she toasted, lifting the plastic cup to her lips, drinking down the liquid. There wasn't a lot of it, but the little that was there was refreshing, tasting like a mixture of different exotic fruits. "Yum," she told the old man, licking her lips.

It was then the Doctor stood up, his hand brushing her as he took the ice cream holder from her, transferred it to his other hand, before re-holding Meat's. "Come on then, it's going to melt," he said, pulling her along.

"See ya funky old dude!" Meat gave a quick wave to the old man, who waved back, before running along behind the Doctor, laughing at his sudden enthusiasm.

When they were out of his eye sight, the old man changed into a tall, grand looking figure, with an odd sand colour of skin. "See ya, indeed," he said, his eyes flashing for just a second.

**xXx**

It was about three months after that lovely mini vacation on PhiBeta that Meat became aware that she was putting on weight. At first she had considered it to be simply a trick of the light, but it had been confirmed when her favourite corset was just that bit too tight for her. Well … at least, tighter than it was meant to be at the very least.

Also, there was a definite roundness to her weight gain.

She had spoken to Donna about it, opting to wear slightly bigger t-shirts in the mean time, as the weight gain didn't really make any sense. She was doing more exercise than she ever had; what with the ridiculous amount of running that was involved with a life on the Tardis, travelling with the Doctor. Donna had listened carefully to everything she had to say, before handing her a box, instructing her to follow the instructions on it.

"Just … trust me on this Blondie," Donna had smiled, patting Meat's shoulder. "It'll get one possibility out of the way at least," she said, shoving Meat into the bathroom. Meat had rolled her eyes and complied, knowing that it was best not to pissed off a human Time Lord. Of course, it took her a while to recognise the box and its contents for what they were, mostly because they just didn't look like that in her time period.

Still showed the same blue line though, that never changed.

Donna had rushed them both along to the control room, shrieking at the Doctor about the situation they were in. He had stared in silence for a few moments, which seemed so much longer than just a few moments, his wrists resting on his knees as he sat on the floor, looking up at two with wide eyes. Then he sprang into action, jumping up and pulling Meat along to the medical bay, to try a more accurate test on her.

The result was exactly the same.

"I'm sorry, or pleased to tell you this…not sure which one it would be, but anyway, yeah, erm," he said, biting at his bottom lip, "you happen to be pregnant Meat. About … three months along according to these readings," he added, looking closer at the squiggles on the screen, which Meat guessed made perfect sense to him. "So … erm … congratulations?" he offered.

"Doctor, I can't be pregnant," Meat said, sounding shocked. "I haven't had sex in about four months, since …" she trailed off, "well …" she gave him a pointed look, which caused his face to flush slightly, his gaze dropping quickly to the ground. Donna looked between the pair.

"But … he's alien," she pointed out. Meat shrugged.

"I was drunk," she said. "And alien he may be, but he's also pretty nice on the eye," she shrugged. Donna rolled her eyes, muttering something under her breath. "Oh, don't worry luv," Meat said, grinning and running her tongue along her teeth, "you ever offer and I'll jump." Donna's eyes widened.

"Shouldn't we try to work out who the daddy of your soon to be born kiddie is?" she said quickly. "Three months ago … we were on PhiBeta, had that holiday," she pointed out. "Go and get friendly with any of the locals there?" she asked as sweetly as she could, least Meat take offence. Apparently she hadn't worked out yet that it really took a lot to offend Meat.

"Met a funky old dude," she said, giving the question careful thought. "Didn't 'get friendly' with him though," she added, her tongue firmly in her cheek. "He gave me a drink. Was nice really, tasted like all these different types of fruit," she told them. The Doctor stared.

"Was it pink?" he asked. Meat frowned.

"Yeah it was," she answered. "I'd just finished it when you decided to run at full speed back with the ice creams, pulling me along with you," she added, sounding slightly annoyed by it all. The Doctor turned pale, looking down at her rounded stomach, which did begin to make her feel slightly uncomfortable. This uncomfortable feeling was only increased by Donna's gasp, as she worked out whatever it was the Doctor had, and began to stare slightly as well. "Is… is colour important?"

"A pink 'fruity' drink on PhiBeta is a fertility drink," the Doctor explained, a slight tone of awe evident in his voice. "The female drinks it, and then the male transfers his DNA to her … through the holding of the hand," he added. Meat gasped, her hands moving quickly down to rub at her stomach.

"You mean … "

"That's not just any baby," Donna said softly.

"That's a brand new Time Lord," the Doctor added, laying his hand gently on Meat's.

**xXx**

"How about Bismillah?"

"What about Bismillah?"

"For the baby. It's name."

"…My child is not getting named Bismillah."

"It's my child too!"

"And what would you suggest then Space Boy? Trillion? Zaphod Beeblebrox?"

"How about Fred?"

**xXx**

"Doctor have you not finished putting that cot up yet?"

"I'll do it later Donna!"

"You said that last month!"

"… It's not later yet … ? Ow! Ow! Donna let go of my ear!"

**xXx**

"Meat? What are you doing?"

"Playing music. Donna showed me this thing that suggested that babies are able to hear music in the womb and it can influence them."

"Yeah … about that, I think you're meant to play Mozart."

"What's wrong with this?"

"Did it have to be this song?"

"Again I ask, what's wrong with it?"

"… I Can't Decide, _really_?"

**xXx**

"Doctor! Why isn't that nursery finished yet?!"

"I had to fix the Tardis"

"Get in there now!"

"But I need to finish doin… Donna … you can't do that to me! Not with my sonic screwdriver!"

**xXx**

Eventually came the day that they had been waiting for. There was a lot of screaming and yelling, mostly from Donna, though Meat did threaten to castrate the Doctor or any male who dared come near her with any 'funny ideas. 'It was the death glare that came with it that made the Doctor wish that they could have just went to a hospital, but unfortunately there was no hospital left in the universe that would have been able to deal with a naturally born, part Gallifreyian child, so the medical wing on the Tardis is was.

He highly suspected the old girl would have never forgiven him had he managed to find a hospital.

Within in a few hours a new voice was added to the screeching and screaming, though it was screaming itself. "Meat, it's a boy … Doctor you have a boy!" Donna grinned widely, having cleaned up the tiny little. "A beautiful, healthy, gorgeous little baby boy," she said, handing him over to the exhausted and sweaty Meat.

Meat had never been particularly motherly in her life, shying away from taking care of the little kids who lived at the Heartbreak Hotel simply because she didn't know how to relate to them. It was simple just to say that Meat and children were not mixy things. Having said that, her own child was a different story entirely, as she tenderly cradled the tiny boy in her arms, smiling down at him with such a wide grin she felt her face would split in half. "Hey little one … I'm your mummy," she whispered.

The Doctor moved over, laying his head on the crown on his son's - something which felt oddly alien to him - head, looking down at him with wide eyes. "He's tiny," he said, stroking at the wisps of brown hair that were already apparent on the baby's crown. "Drax," he said.

"Hm?" Meat said, looking at him. "What was that Doctor?" she asked.

"His name," the Doctor replied. "Drax … if you don't mind that is," he added. Meat looked down at her son, studying him carefully.

"Drax," she tested the name out of her tongue, before grinning. "Drax Loaf, it suits him," she said, grinning widely once more. The Doctor smiled, as did Donna - though she made sure to snap as many pictures as she could, knowing that they would want something to remember the moment other than their own memories.

There an odd noise in the room, accompanied by a bright white light. "What?!" the Doctor said, turning quickly. From out of the light came the old man who had given Meat the fertility drink which had lead to the newly born Drax. "How …. What ….?" the Doctor said, unable to settle on a question. Donna was equally as speechless, though Meat stared at the man with a dreamy smile, as the man's presence instantly relaxed her, removing any feelings expect ones of complacency.

"Hey funky old dude," she said. "Told ya I'd see ya," she commented lightly. The old man smiled.

"Indeed you did. And you've had a little baby," he cooed, looking at the bundle in Meat's arms. "May I?" he asked, holding out his arms, as he stepped nearer to Meat.

"Meat … no!" the Doctor said, as the old man ripped baby Drax from his mother's arms. There was another flash of blinding light, as the old man's form changed, turning once more into that tall grand figure. The Doctor rushed forward, as did Donna, only for them both to be thrown back, as they hit an invisible barrier, which surrounded only the man. "Leave him alone!"

"Oh no Doctor," the man said, his voice sounding gravely, as though his throat had been scratched red raw with sandpaper. "I think that this child shall come with him," he said, "my own little time child." By this point, whatever it was about the previous form of this man which had relaxed Meat was fading, as she turned, her eyes narrowed in anger, seeing this creature holding _her_ son away from her.

"NO!" she screamed, her eyes shutting as she did so.

When she opened them she found herself hanging from chains in a dingy laboratory, the Doctor beside her, and Donna beside him, their heads wired up to a some sort of scanner, which was feeding in pictures and situations to them.

"You ruined the illusion!" the creature snapped at her, before breathing deeply, calming down. "Never mind, I got want I wanted," he said, picking up Drax and showing him to them. "Isn't he adorable? Of course, I knew this could never happen in reality, but dreams are my speciality."

"You mean nightmares!" the Doctor yelled at him. "I know your species, they make the stuff of nightmares real. The worst creatures that could ever come out of someone's imagination, and you give them material bodies."

"But not this time," Donna said, glaring at him. "If you can do it with nightmares, why not do it with a dream? A perfectly nice, happy dream."

"Exactly, the red haired one is correct," the creature smirked. "Long ago Doctor you destroyed my people, and it has taken me years to plan the perfect revenge," he informed them. "And this is it. You destroyed my people, so I destroy your son," he smirked, cradling Drax gently in one arm, the other going up to give a short sarcastic wave, something held in its grasp. "Toddle pip," he said, pressing whatever it was he was holding, and teleporting away.

When he left, the chains opened, allowing the three to drop to the ground. "Doctor! Bring him back! You have to bring him back!" Meat yelled, her eyes wide looking around the room for a reverse button. "He has Drax!"

"I … " the Doctor began, looking around the room himself. "I can't…. I'm trying but … I … I can't…."

Meat's eyes began to water. "Don't Doctor… don't tell me you can't. You _have_ to. He's our son!"!

"Meat …" Donna said, her hand reaching out to touch the Bohemian's shoulder. Meat moved out of her way quickly, running forward to stand directly in front of the Doctor..

"BRING HIM BACK!" she screamed at him, her fists pummelling his chest. The Doctor looked as though both his hearts were broken.

"I … I can't," he said softly, his tone breaking. Meat grasped tightly at his shirt, her knees giving out from under her.

"My son," she sobbed, "he's got my son … "

**xXx**

After a few hours they made their way back to the Tardis, sitting quietly in the control room. It had only been a dream, a false planted dream, but it was real enough to them, Meat could still feel the pains of giving birth. The Doctor silently flicked a switch on the Tardis, Donna standing behind him, not directly part of the grief, but wanting to say something.

"Doctor …"

"I'm going to get him back Donna," he told her. "I don't care how long it takes. He's my son."

"Our son," Meat said softly, looking up. "He's _our_ son, and _we're _going to get him back."

"Even if it takes a lifetime," the Doctor promised.


	8. Out There

_**A/N:**__ Second part of the "Drax" arc. I own only Drax and the ideas in this fic. Oh, and the new alien species, though they were inspired by the mention of the Nightmare Child in the series four finale of Doctor Who ... on we go with the chapter!

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**Out There**

Drax was missing most of his life's memories.

He was about 14, or was it 15? He wasn't sure which, but he knew that psychically at least, he was in his teens. He lived on the planet Nexicorn, home of the Nightmare Feeders, or Dream Feeders, depending on what side of the planet you happened to be visiting. There wasn't a difference between both groups in terms of ability, it was just that one preferred working with nightmares, the others with dreams. His father always told him that this was due to the universal balance, and did not mean that those who preferred working with nightmare were evil, and those working with dreams good. It just happened that the peoples of the universe needed both to function properly. The only reason they chose to separate was that it made their jobs that much easier.

Drax had taken this in with a nod, not particularly bothered about it, for he never really had the grasp over either that would dictate with group he would belong to. All Nexicornicans had talents with the guiding of dreams (or nightmares). It was something to do with the way they had evolved apparently. There weren't really that many Nexicornicans left, not since - roughly 500 years before Drax's birth - an evil time travelling alien became jealous of their talents, and saw to destroy the majority of the citizens. Drax's father had been a child at the time, only in his 50's, but he remembered it. The same evil alien had saw fit to steal Drax away as a baby. He had only been returned to his home planet a year - or was it two - previously, his memories wiped of everything up until that point.

They had also changed his appearance. No longer did he have the healthy golden sand like complexion of his people; with the same glittering eyes, and long thing fingers; now he looked very odd indeed, with thick brown hair, which fell stubbornly in front of his eyes - which were a bright blue rather than the blacks or greys common amongst Nexicornicans - and a pale, peachy-pink complexion. To put it fairly, Drax looked more like one of the humans whose dreams he was meant to be able to guide, than his own people.

None of this helped him amongst people his own age, all of whom considered him to be a freak, as well as ugly - though they also did remark, in sneering little voices, that for a human he would be considered quite attractive, it was a 'pity' that humans weren't worth the ground they stood upon. At least, in the eyes of the Nexicornicans. Friends of his father often cursed the evil alien that had done this to him, telling Drax that he had nothing to be ashamed of. Drax was confused, he had never, for what he could remember, felt ashamed of the way he looked, or his usual past. They all connected in with the dreams after all.

It was really his father who was ashamed of him, hiding him away from the rest of their world, limiting his contacting with the rest of the people. Drax often spent his days roaming the attic of their home, looking out of the window down into the street, watching them wandering by, living their own little lives, caught up in their own little dramas, never once sparing a thought for the freedom they had. It was this injustice that he often wrote about in his dream journal - something which all Nexicornicans kept, and that his father insister he followed suit.

"Safe behind these windows, and parapets of stone," he muttered as he scribbled down the words, "gazing at the people down below me. All my life, I've watched them as I hide up here alone, hungry for the histories they show me. All my life I've memorised their faces, knowing them as they will never know me. All my life I've wondered how it feels to pass a day, not above them … but part of them," he wrote, pausing as he realised how great a secret he had revealed. This was not his biggest secret, but it was big enough. He stood slightly, his journal and pen still in hand, and moved over to sit on the large window still, using his knees and legs to rest his journal on as he wrote.

"And out there, living in the sun. Give just me one day out there, all I ask is one to hold forever," he muttered, looking back from the window to write in his journal. "Out there, where they all live unaware. What I'd give, what I'd _dare_, just to live one day out there," he muttered, sighing wistfully as he added a full stop. "Out there among the millers and the weavers and their wives, through the roofs and gables I can see them. Every day they shout, and scold, and go about their lives, heedless of the gift it is to be them. If I were in their skin, I'd treasure every instant," he said, his scribbles taking on rather jagged movements.

"Out there, strolling by the Seine," the Seine being a popular marketplace not long from where Drax stayed. "Taste a morning out there, like ordinary men, who walk freely about there," he muttered, feeling particularly bitter. "Just one day, then I swear I'll be content with my share," he promised, underlining the words as it to emphasise their meaning. "Won't resent, won't despair. Old and bent, I won't care!" he added, his scribbling become furious. "I'll have spent one day out there," he finished. He stared down at the words for he didn't know how long, the black ink looking back up at in coldly, revealing none of the emotion he had felt while writing them down. For some reason, this annoyed him more than it should have.

He sighed, rubbing at his eyes, and yawning slightly. Another thing which set him apart from the rest of the Nexicornicans was that he very rarely slept, and when he did sleep, it was for relatively short periods of times, never longer than four hours at the most. But this was one of the important times where he needed the sleep. So he dragged himself to his bed

**xXx**

_Burnt orange skies … silver leafed trees … fields of deep red grass capped with snow … the Shining World of the Seven Systems … _

"_He's like fire and ice and rage … He's like the night, and the storm in the heart of the sun … He's ancient and forever … He burns at the centre of time and he can see the turn of the universe. And … he's wonderful."_

_Planets burning … fires raging … species dying … screams for help … begs for mercy … harsh cries raging out across the galaxies, across time … brutal ... metallic … EXTERMINATE … a most terrible choice … screams echoing … then all gone … within a second._

"_We're the resistance, the last hope"… "are you ready to break free?" … "To be a shooting star" … "a tiger" … "defying the laws of gravity" … "are you ready to be Champions" … "if you join the bohemians, there's no way back to GaGa Land" … "outcast forever" … "no longer a member of the Cons-Human Race" … "Rock 'n' Roll is anything you want it to be" … "it's sex" … "it's style" … "it's rebellion" … "it's freedom" … "Make your last thoughts 'the Dream'" … loud screams of pain … cheers of triumph …. "Anyway the wind blows." _

Drax sat bolt upright in bed, breathing heavily.

It was always the same, every time he slept. He had these dreams of a different time, of a different planet, with the same two people. Well, he felt it was the same man, though he had so many different face, it felt like it was the same man. The dreams showed him such images, of beautiful planets and of terrifying times. Of oppression and of freedom, of hope in the worst of times. He couldn't understand why they always featured these two people, and why he felt so connected to then.

He shook his head, dismissing the thoughts, and standing. He felt well rested now, or at least as well rested as he could possibly get after that dream, so he moved from his room in search of a drink, feeling the need to hydrate himself. He padded quietly along the shadowy corridors of his house, it never really felt like home to him, just a building he happened to live in. Halfway down to the kitchen area, he overheard his father's voice, speaking lower than usual, and sounding annoyed. He frowned, finding himself curious, and knelt in front of the door, listening attentively.

"I don't understand why I have to keep him here, oh Great Leader," his father snapped. "He asks too many questions, and is never happy to make do with the answers I give him," he sighed, sounding as though the world were resting on his shoulders. "It's getting harder to keep him content, Great Leader." Drax's frown grew, not wanting to hear anymore as he slowly got back to his feet. As misfortune would have it, he stumbled, pushing against the door, causing it to creak open. His father stormed over to the door, wrenching it open, standing in the doorway in such a way that meant Drax couldn't see behind him. "Drax! Why are you out of your room boy?" he demanded.

"… I had a bad dream father," he said, his gaze dropping to the floor. He never could look his father directly in the eye. "I thought a drink would help to calm me."

"You are a Nexicornican, Drax. Nexicornicans do not get bad dreams," his father reminded him. "Not unless you deliberately gave yourself one, would this be the case boy?" he demanded once again, staring at Drax unblinkingly. Drax's gaze remained firmly on the ground.

"No Father," he said. "You know I'm at the bottom of my class for nightmare creation, as well as dream manipulation," he said, in a forced embarrassed tone, knowing that although deep down he knew he wasn't particularly bothered by this knowing, he knew it was something his father felt that he ought to be rightly ashamed of.

"Indeed," his father said. "Well run along and fetch your drink," he said, "then straight back to your room," he instructed. Drax nodded, wandering along to fetch himself a drink. At least, he gave his father that impression. He instead waited a few moments inside the kitchen area, before sneaking back to the door, this time making sure not to stumble as he moves near it, listening carefully once more. "He hardly sleeps Great Leader … he's too much like him!"

"The time is at hand," a rasping voice spoke out. Drax frowned, finding the voice familiar but not being able to place it. He supposed that perhaps he had simply overheard the voice as one of the rare visitors to the house. "He is psychically mature now," the Great Leader said, "we shall use him to our advantage. We shall destroy the Doctor," the Great Leader spat the name out as though it were the most foul of words, "by using his own weapon: time itself!" There was a long pause. And then.

"Bring me the boy."

**xXx**

For his credit, Drax's father was unsurprised to see Drax standing at the other side of the door, simply ordering the boy to follow him. It was that Drax was highly suspicious of everything that was going on that evening, but his curiosity - which his tutors had often told him was a very unattractive part of his personality - lead him into complying with his father's demand, though something in him was screaming at him to take to his heels and just run.

He always was fond of running.

But instead he forced himself to follow behind his father, as calmly as was possible for him. He was taken to a large Gothic style building. He found himself amused, of course an scene of great importance would take place in a building like this. He remained silent as he was frogmarched into the building. "Great Leader!" his father called. "Great Leader! I have brought him."

"Excellent Doca," the rasping voice of the Great Leader spoke. "You shall be rewarded greatly for your efforts in our cause." There were the sounds of heavy footsteps, as the Great Leader revealed himself from the shadows, causing Drax to frown deeply for another time that evening.

"I know you."

"I would say that was possible _Drax_," the Great Leader laughed cruelly, causing Drax to step backwards, as though unnerved by the man. "Oh, do I scare you little boy?" The Great Leader smirked. "Quite right too," he laughed once more, the laugh echoing in the large room. Drax stared at him.

"…What do you want with me?" he asked, his head titling to the side, continuing to stare at the Great Leader. The Great Leader smiled widely, looking at Drax as an snake-oil salesman might a potential customer.

"Dear boy," the Great Leader said, his rasping tones taking on a slick nature, "you have been Chosen." A low murmur of awe went coursing around the room at this, with Drax turning as if to follow it.

"What do you mean, Chosen?" he asked, turning back to face the Great Leader, who happened to be staring at the boy unblinkingly. "Chosen for what?"

"To lead all Nexicornicans back to their place of glory!" the Great Leader bellowed. "To give our people their true place amongst the stars!"

"I was rather under the impression that your 'place of glory' was at the bottom of a dank pit," an unfamiliar voice echoed in the hall. "Or do you honestly think that pitiful excuse for a child can give you what you never had?"

"The child is no ordinary child!" the Great Leader snapped at the newcomer, a man in a smart looking suit, who was followed by a blonde female, who was wearing her own smart suit. "He is no Nexicornican child!" There was a long silence, as Drax turned to look at the Great Leader with a pale face.

"…What?" he asked softly, his voice making it sound as though his heart was breaking. "But … "

"Come along boy! Did you really believe that evil aliens altered your appearance?" The Great Leader scoffed loudly. "All we did was steal you from your parents, and then accelerate your age so that we wouldn't be waiting around for you to become useful to our cause."

Drax stared. "Tha… That's not true!" he yelled at the Great Leader. "Father! Please … tell me it isn't true …" he begged, turning to the Nexicornican he had believed was his father. He didn't answer him, looking at the ground. Drax stared for a few moments, before taking in a deep breath, forcing himself to remain as calm as he could. He nodded eventually. "That would explain my dreams then," he said, in as even a voice as he could manage.

"Dreams?" the newcomer stared at him. Drax nodded up at him, wondering why he felt as though he should know this person, wondering why there was a feeling of being similar ringing in his mind. "What type of dreams?"

"Don't answer that question!" the Great Leader snapped at Drax, who quite rightly ignored him.

"Of different planets, and of different times," he told the man. "I dream of war, of ice and fire and of rage, and of such hope, the Shining World of the Seven Systems," he said, closing his eyes briefly as he allowed himself to remember the images in his dreams. The man stared, as did the blonde woman accompanying him, as a long silence fell on the room, with all eyes slowly turning to face him.

The man smiled, a slow, long, dangerous smile. "His, I assume?" he asked the Great Leader, sounding amused with the situation. The Great Leader nodded slowly, annoyed that all of his careful planning had been destroyed by a boy who couldn't keep his mouth shut. "Fine. Lucy, get the boy, he's coming with us," he instructed her. Lucy smiled.

"Of course Harry," she said, reaching forward and taking Drax by his hand. "What's your name dear? " she asked him, smiling down at him as one might as small child.

"Drax," he responded. "At least, that's what they said it was," he shrugged. "I don't know whether I can believe that anymore."

The man - Harry was what Lucy had called him, but Drax felt that it wasn't his true name - laughed slightly. "Oh, how like him, to name his son after his fallen friend." Drax blinked, staring at the man.

"You know my father?" he asked, before correcting himself. "My real father?"

"Yes, I do," the man replied, still smiling that somewhat dangerous smile. Drax swallowed nervously.

"What do I call you?" The man's smile grew wider.

"I am the Master."


	9. Strangers Like Me

_**A/N:**__ So, this was originally going to be MUCH longer, but my laptop died on me and I lost the file. Said laptop has now been sent away to be fixed, and I have to work on the desktop which I find to be much slower. But, meh, it's done and I'm quite happy with it so that's why it's being posted. Enjoy!

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Considering how they actually managed to leave Nexicorn, Drax felt as though he had every right to be absolutely terrified of the Master - Uncle Master as he was informed to call hi, Lucy was 'Aunt Lucy.' None of this, however, explained why he didn't feel terrified of the man, but slightly intrigued. Oh there was disgust there, he had never been a fan of violence, but his curiosity won out - as it so often did.

They had taken him to their ship, something which the Master called a Tardis: Time And Relative Dimension In Space. Drax noticed that it was bigger on the inside, but suspected that the clue to understanding this was available in the name of the ship, so he chose not to question it ... at least not yet. He liked the look of the control room, which seemed both ancient and new at the same time, with the softest of comforting whispers surrounding him. The Master simply scowled when he mentioned this, but Aunt Lucy gave him an indulgent smile, and told him it was best to simply let Uncle be.

"Saying that, Harry?" she called over, gaining the Master's attention as he looked up at her with an arched eyebrow. "He's filthy Harry," she told him.

"Then make him take a bath," the Master responded, going back to whatever it was he had been doing before Lucy had interrupted him. Drax frowned.

"What's a bath?"

**xXx**

When he had been washed, and freshly dressed in what he was told were a t-shirt and jeans - which were decidedly brighter than the sack like clothing of the Nexicornians, Drax found himself thinking baths to be very wet, but oddly pleasant in a relaxing way. That is, if it weren't for the constant stinging the soapy water made at his skin (which he discovered was lighter still that he thought it was.) Lucy had stared for a few minutes, before calling on the Master yet again, though this time there was a hint of worry in her voice.

"Just look at him Harry!" she demanded, pointing over at Drax. The Master turned and stared, his face falling.

"That's just not fair," he remarked,

"I know," Lucy agreed, looking at Drax with pity, and a slightly motherly look in her eyes. "Who would be so cruel as to beat an innocent child?" she murmured, rubbing Drax's cheek, as he looked between the pair, completely confused. It was standard on Nexicorn for him to receive punishment when he had failed to live up to his fath... to Doca's expectations of him. Surely that was the standard practice everywhere?

The Master sighed, grabbing hold of Drax's wrist with a bored look fixed upon his face. "Come on then, little spawnling," he said, dragging Drax along to another room, which was very white, and smelled oddly of lemons. "Sit there," the Master instructed him, pointing to a medical bunk. Drax did as he was told, watching the Master quietly, as the man brought out a clear liquid, and began dabbing it on Drax's wounds.

"Uncle?" Drax questioned, frowning before wincing as the small cuts began stinging painfully. The Master didn't look up.

"I may be evil," he explained, "and I don't mind taking credit for other people's work. But there is no way I'm taking the blame for this."

**xXx**

While Drax was travelling with the Master, and Lucy, he was taken to many different planets, watching as the Master got a lot of money after only speaking to people - who often looked terrified of the Master. He was sure that the money they were given was for less than nice reasons, but was almost completely positive that he shouldn't really say anything against it, considering that the Master was looking after him. But still ... curiosity killed the cat, and if he was anything, Drax was eternally curious.

"Uncle," he asked, when they had left a grand palace, a large wad of intergalactic dollars secure within the Master's wallet. "Why do they give you money?" The Master paused, and looked down, as though only realizing that Drax was there with him.

"It's a kindness Spawnling," the Master answered. He would never called Drax by his name, it was as though giving him a name would cement whose child he was.

"But ... why?" Drax asked. "You don't do anything for them."

"I allow them to live, is that not enough?" the Master responded quickly. "It is not for you to question Spawnling, get that into your mind quickly." Drax nodded.

"Yes Uncle."

**xXx**

It was a quiet night when the other ship had shown up.

Drax had been sitting in the control room, working on a set of problems that the Master had thrown at him to shut him up. Strictly speaking, Drax couldn't technically 'write', the Nexicornians had used a form of 'written' language that was rather like Egyptian hieroglyphics. However, that being so, they had discovered that numbers were a different thing entirely, and that he could recognise shapes of numbers, and work out patterns based on shapes. The Master had dismissed this way of working out problems as childish nonsense, but it didn't change the fact that for Drax, it worked.

The knock at the door had been entirely unexpected - considering they had landed on an uninhabited moon deliberately so that the Master could carry out repairs to the Tardis without having to worry about making a quick exit. Lucy was meant to be helping the Master out, but she kept a watchful eye on Drax. She had looked up, and walked over to the door, opening it to reveal a rather beautiful looking woman.

The woman had looked in the Tardis with critical eyes, a small sad look appearing on her face. "I had rather thought it might be ..."

The Master met the woman's eyes. "It was grown from a piece of his, it is, sorry, _was_ the only surviving one after all," he said. "Speaking of surviving," he added, looking up at the woman with amusement, "aren't you meant to be dead?"

"The same could be said of you," the women replied, her eyes narrowing at him, as she studied the control room again, her eyes falling on Drax - who had been long informed that when meeting a stranger he was to remain quiet until such times as either the Master or Lucy told him it was okay for him to speak. "He's not yours."

"I played hero," the Master explained. "Lucy's been taking care of the Spawnling."

"His name is Drax, Harry," Lucy said through gritted teeth, smiling warily at the newcomer. "We found him on Nexicorn,"she explained, "they wanted him for something. Actually," she paused, turning to the Master, "did we ever find out what it actually was?"

"I have my suspicions," he replied, still staring warily at the woman. "But you're right, he's not ours, we're just punished with taking care of him." The woman rolled her eyes, coming over and kneeling in front of Drax.

"You're younger than you look, aren't you?"

"They accelerated my growth," Drax responded. "Uncle says I'm not even a month old yet ... though it could be more than that now," he added, biting his lip slightly in thought. "We've been travelling through the time vortex for a while."

"Interesting," she said. "Is he taking you to your parents?" Drax shrugged at this question. "Do you want to go to your parents?"

"I think I would like that," Drax said, giving the question careful consideration.

"Would you like to come with me then?" she asked, "I'm looking for your father as well, so it would be more efficient this way." Drax blinked, looking from the woman, to the Master to Lucy, before back to the woman.

" ... I think I would like that," he said, a small smile appearing on his face.

**xXx**

Within the hour Drax, with the help of Lucy, had a small suitcase packed with the clothes he had become quite fond of. She had also pressed a small plush item into the case. "For when you sleep," she explained, "since I know you have a lot of nightmares," she added, making him promise not to look until he was safe and secure in the other ship.

The goodbyes were brief, with Lucy hugging Drax tightly, throwing a barrage of questions at him, making sure he had everything he needed and that he would behave himself. The Master had stared at Lucy's behaviour, turning to look at Drax with an unreadable expression.

"Take care of yourself Spawnling," he said, with a smirk appearing at the corners of his mouth. "Give your father hell for me, won't you?"

"Yes Uncle," Drax replied obediently, the both of them knowing that he wouldn't really do anything horribly bad, just be a little naughty at times. If he chose to be that was.

He looked around at the pair who had taken care of him, and gave them what was - and not even the Master could deny it, though he would surely try - a beautiful, sincere smile.

And then he was gone.

"It'll be quiet without him," Lucy remarked, looking at the closed door with an odd expression on her face. The Master considered this. When it got down to it really, he didn't really hate the child, he had found him slightly amusing if he was completely honest. It also made him consider the point that perhaps he didn't hate children as much as he made out to.

"We could always have one of our own," he suggested to Lucy, who looked back at him with wide eyes

**xXx**

Compared to the Master's Tardis, this new ship was so very quiet. The woman had smiled, and led Drax to a bedroom which she informed him was now his, leaving him to unpack on his own. She told him that when she was ready, he'd find her in the control room.

Drax unpacked rather quickly, putting his clothes into the correct places as Lucy had shown him. At the bottom of the case was the gift Lucy had pushed into the case: a small, brown teddy bear, with shiny black eyes. Drax picked it up out of the case with a fond smile, running his fingers over the soft fur on the toy, before hugging it tightly to his chest.

When he was ready, he found his way back to the control room, where the woman smiled at him when she saw him enter. "Not long now Drax, you'll see," she said to him. "Can't move in this universe without bumping into someone who's heard of your father." Drax grinned widely at this, looking forward to meeting his real parents.

"What do I call you?" he asked. "Only the Master, well I had to call them Uncle Master, and Aunt Lucy," he began to ramble. The woman let out a soft laugh.

"Oh, none of that Drax," she said, smiling widely. "No, I think Romana will do quite nicely."


	10. Home

_**A/N:**__ Next chapter, and the fourth and last piece in the Drax arc. To an extent. It's understandable after reading. Please review when done! On we go with the show

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Romana took Drax to the Heartbreak Hotel.

Obviously, it wasn't all as simple as the statement implies, but Romana had a special talent for making the rather complicated seem not that complicated after all. It was what came with graduating from the Academy with a triple first she supposed. She had debated for a good while on whether or not it was the right thing to do, to take Drax to the Heartbreak Hotel, to the time of the Bohemian Revolution. After all, she wasn't even sure if it was the correct time period that the human DNA in him came from. He could be from any point, but there was something about his instinctive knowledge of Earth music that had given her a strong enough clue.

If she happened to be wrong, she would deal with it then. And besides, even if it wasn't the correct time period, she was rather sure that he would enjoy himself anyway. But she was nearly entirely almost completely positive that she was right. It was at that moment that Romana realised that the Doctor had a greater influence on her that she had originally thought, not that it was a bad thing of course. She had missed him, in her way, when she was in E-Space, though perhaps even more so when she was the Lady President. Actually, was she still the Lady President? She supposed that technically, she must be. That was rather deviating from the point however, which was that she had, if she allowed herself to admit it, missed the Doctor terribly. It hadn't been until after his Tardis had left E-Space after all, that she realised that she had probably been in love with him.

But it was a rather large probably. Even if it did feel to be a rather larger certainty that she was still - most definitely still - in love with that odd Time Lord.

**xXx**

"So, you're a ... Time Lady?" Scaramouche questioned the brunette who sat in front of her with a grace that betrayed, or perhaps gave compliment to, the fact that she wasn't actually from around those parts. Though at the same time, she did give off an air of being so comfortable with her surroundings, it was almost like she were a part of the furniture. Whatever it was, it made Scaramouche's head ache slightly, but that was besides the point, she found Romana to be somewhat more interesting than the Doctor. The fact that she wasn't jumping around like a five year old on a sugar overdosed did help, of course.

"If you wish for the technical specifications of it all, yes I am a Time Lady," Romana told her with a pleasant smile, "I'm also the Lady President of Gallifrey. Well I think I am at the very least."

"How can you only think you are?"

"Well, it did burn you see," Romana told her. "I'm not quite sure what the policies take place after that." Scaramouche just nodded, not really understanding Romana. She imagined the only way she would understand was to go through something similar herself, and it didn't really sound all that pleasant. "Though I imagine the Doctor would claim himself as the highest authority, when it suited him."

"... Not so much when I met him," Scaramouche admitted after a moment's thought. "He was more into the whole jumping around madly and pissing me off thing," she explained. Romana let out a light laugh.

"He hasn't changed then," she said fondly. Looking up from the conversation, she caught sight of Drax, who was chatting happily to Galileo, who was listening to the hybrid child with a great deal more respect and attention than other would possibly give him. It was refreshing to see. K9 was flitting about besides them, joining conversation to correct Drax's terminology - as was his way really.

"So, he's the Doctor's kid?" Scaramouche questioned. Romana nodded, still keeping an eye on the him, and wondering just why she felt ever so slightly depressed about the knowledge. She was a fairly rational person after all, and anyway, she had never really wanted to be a mother. Well apart from that once on the Leisure Hive. But she blamed the Doctor for that brief moment of thinking that way. "My guessing is that he'll be looking for him," Scaramouche reasoned. Romana nodded once more.

"Hm, yes, I had thought that," she told her. "Drax does have a slight pull to Earth rock music, and it made me think of, well, of this time period," she explained with a wide smile. "I thought it would be the best place to start." Scaramouche nodded for a moment, glancing over at Galileo and Drax, a comparison entering her mind all too quickly. "I rather thought his pull to the music was quite like the tale of the Dreamer," Romana added, too casually, exchanging a guilty smile with Scaramouche. "I apologise, but it was easy to work out what you were thinking from the look on your face," she laughed lightly. Scaramouche stared for a few moments before laughing herself.

"It fits though," she told Romana, after thinking about it. "They're both dreaming of a better world, of a past world," she corrected herself, a sympathetic nod towards the Time Lady who accepted it with a smaller, sadder smile. "D'ya think the Doctor'll show up here soon then?" she asked, hoping to get the discussion back on to a happier topic. Romana did brighten slightly, so Scaramouche took it as a good sign.

"Well if he is travelling with your friend,"

"Who Drax looks like," Scaramouche cut in suddenly. Romana blinked, having not expected to be interrupted in that way.

"Pardon?"

"It's just … well I've been sitting thinking that Drax looks like someone I know," Scaramouche explained. "And then you mentioned Meat and it clicked," she shrugged slightly, " he looks a bit like Meat." Romana blinked, considering this, turning to look at Drax, her mind racing with thoughts. In all likely hood, Meat was very probably his mother, the human part of his DNA. Of course, from the blood tests they had done on Drax - K9 had insisted - she was aware that he was the result of a PhiBeta fertility medicine, as they tended to leave a slight imprint in the child until they reached the PhiBetaen age of maturity - which was 21. And from what the Master had told it, well simply it all lead her to the - most likely correct - conclusion that Miss Loaf just happened to be unfortunate in this instant.

It didn't stop a small spark of jealously though. Just the tiniest of sparks. Romana shook her head, silently reminding herself that she was 300 years old and that she had no right to be jealous of a human who had been cruelly violated in such a manner.

It was then that she heard such a familiar sound. Such a beautiful sound.

Drax looked up, standing and staring into blank space when he heard the sound. "Drax? You okay?" Galileo asked, looking up at the boy with concern. Drax didn't answer him, instead stepping forward and staring intently at the spot in front of him. Slowly, a blue box materialised in front of him, causing Galileo to jump back, blinking rapidly in shock. Drax reached out with his hand nervously, before pulling back, continuing to stare silently at the closed wooden doors. Eventually the doors opened, and Drax looked up at the man who stood there.

"Hullo Drax," the Doctor said softly. Drax looked up at him, considering him carefully.

"Hullo Dad."

**xXx**

"What I want to know is how you got here sweetheart," Donna asked Drax in her kindest tone, something which never failed to make the Doctor stare when he heard it. Drax looked at her with a wide innocent smile, something which had Meat staring as who would have thought her child could manage such an innocent smile.

"I got here by Tardis," he told them. The Doctor frowned slightly, remaining silent. Meat kneeled down in front of her son, reminding herself that despite outward appearances it really only had been a few months since he had been born, and that he was her baby for Mercury's sake! No evil alien could take that from her.

"Drax," she began, carefully wording the question in her mind before she said it out loud, "we mean, who brought you here?" she asked him. Drax's smile grew even more.

"Romana did."

The Doctor turned to stare slowly at his son, backing away as though he were something unknown. Scaramouche nodded, backing up what Drax was saying.

"She just headed off back to her Tardis," she told them, "if you hurry you could …" The sentence wasn't even out of her mouth before the Doctor had took off in the direction she pointed, running as fast as he could - and that was pretty fast.

"She's alive," he kept muttering. "She should be dead but she's not and she's Romana and she's alive." It was almost like a prayer, the way he kept repeating it to himself. He skidded to a halt in front of the Tardis, of her specially built Tardis, and began hammering on the door. "Romana!"

Inside her Tardis Romana was leaning her back against the door. "Hello Doctor," she said softly, knowing her would hear her. Which he did. Standing at the other side of the door, he moved back slightly, before moving forward, pressing his forehead against the door hands pressing into it.

"You're alive."

"Am I? How novel." He could hear the smile in Romana's voice, and let out a chocked laugh, his hands curling slightly as the wood of the Tardis - he was rather amused that her Tardis had taken on a disguise that was not unlike his own, but did look like the email boxes they had in this time period - splintered slightly beneath his fingers

"You're meant to be dead," he forced out, closing his eyes and swallowing heavily. "I watched … I saw the Home of the High Council burn … I thought …" Romana's voice spoke out, loud and clear.

"I was called back to E-Space with an important request that I daren't refuse," she explained. He nodded slightly, despite the fact that she couldn't see him.

"I missed you," he whispered, not quite wanting her to hear him, but wanting her to know all the same.

"Sentimental old fool," Romana teased him, hints of a held back sob in her voice. "I missed you too." The Doctor grinned softly, still running his fingers up and down the door of the Tardis. "Doctor I never told you," Romana began, before stopping. What was she doing? She was acting like … well a teenage human.

"What?" She could hear him ask her.

"Never mind," she replied. "You go to your son now Doctor," she told him, putting on a false smile though he couldn't see her. "You go and you look after him, we'll meet again soon I'm sure," she said, a deeply fond tone coming into her voice. "I am fond of him, you know."

"And I'm sure he's fond of you," the Doctor replied. "How could he not be?" Romana's eyes widened slightly at this, realising what the Doctor was implying, but shook her head quickly. Since the Time War she had been acting rather oddly. She briefly wondered if it was a side effect of being the only female of the species left. She just had to ignore it and it would go away.

"You should move back now Doctor," she told him, "I'm going to dematerialise now," she added. "Goodbye for now Doctor." The Doctor did asked as Romana asked, moving back from the Tardis. Romana typed in the coordinates of her next destination - the planet Hex - and looked back towards the door. "Goodbye then."

"You're alive," The Doctor called in to her. He knew she would frown slightly, standing still to listen to him, and it caused his grin to grow. "You should be dead but you're not. You're Romana, _my_ Romana, and you're alive, and," he sighed, his grin stretching wider, "and, oh, you're wonderful."


	11. Explanations

_**A/N**: Because I think some explanations were in order

* * *

_

Donna had decided to take Drax on a tour of the Tardis, mostly since between her and Meat, they had worked out it was Meat who was more likely to get the story from the Doctor concerning Romana. Of course, due to having part of the Doctor's brain process thanks to the meta-crisis, she had also gained some of his memory. So, though she wouldn't tell Meat this, she did have a fair idea who Romana was, and what she meant to him. It was just best Meat discover it for herself. Donna did wonder, momentarily, if Rose had ever been aware of Romana.

She doubted it.

**xXx**

"So," Meat began, walking around the console to stand beside the Doctor, who was focusing intently on the screen. "Who is she?" The Doctor appeared not to hear her, setting the console let the Tardis float around in the vortex for a while,

"Hmm, sorry, what?" he asked, looking up at Meat and blinking slightly. Meat fought back the urge to sigh, closing her eyes and breathing in deeply before opening them again.

"Romana," she said, making sure every syllable of the name was clearly spoke. "Who is she to you?" she asked, looking at him with a curious glint in her eye. The Doctor frowned, looking down at the console as it would provide the answer for him, fingers running over a small hole that Meat had never really noticed before. To be fair, admittedly she didn't really understand the console, so didn't pay much attention to it on that basis. She was amazed at Donna actually being able to fly the Tardis - Meat knew that she wouldn't know where to start with it.

"I travelled with her," the Doctor replied eventually. "Oh, such a long time ago," he added, turning round, crossing his arms and leaning back against the console. "I was younger then, in my 700's," he told Meat with a grin.

"Wow, you must be middle-aged by now," she replied dryly. "Get on the story Crazy Hands," she said, pushing him affectionately.

"She's one of my kind, a Time Lady, a brilliant one," he said, without a moment's thought on it. "She'd just graduated when we first met, a young slip of a thing, not even 130," Meat's eye's widened slightly, but she didn't comment. "She had been ordered to work with me, trying to reassemble the pieces of the Key to Time," he explained.

"… Why does that sound like something out of some cheesy sci-fi show?" she asked, frowning. The Doctor shrugged. "So, hang on, let me see if I'm getting this right," she paused, thinking over what he had just said, "she was a _student_ when she met you?"

"Graduated with a triple first from the Academy," he replied. "She always did like rubbing that in my way, well her first incarnation did," he paused, a fond smile growing on his face. "Oh she was something then, all rules and order and doing it by the book, a classical ice queen beauty."

"So, obviously you corrupted her," Meat grinned widely. The Doctor threw her a scandalised look, before his own wide grin returned to him.

"Not corrupted, more, showed her a new way to do things?" he suggested. Meat laughed. "We managed to do it though, got all the pieces, did what we had to, she just chose not to return to Gallifrey after that," he told Meat, who nodded to show she was listening. "Not long later she chose to regenerate, a lot of students do really, they see it as a sign of maturity."

"Did you?" Meat asked, curious again. The Doctor shook his head, grinning slightly. "Why do you find that funny?" Meat found herself asking, noting dimly that there was probably some joke here that she wasn't quite aware of. The Doctor gave a soft laugh.

"Let's just say I'm not your typical Time Lord," he told her. "But yeah, her second regeneration was, well, she was freer," he said after a moment. "She was," he paused, trying to settle on the right word for it, "oh, she was wonderful, you know," he said, looking out at the Tardis at something which he could see, but that Meat couldn't. An old memory most likely. "We entered E-Space, the negative universe of this one if you like," he explained quickly. "Complete accident but it was an adventure." He didn't sound as happy now.

"That's when she left you, wasn't it?" Meat guessed. The Doctor nodded.

"It was sort of like a divorce," he explained. "She got the pet dog, and I got the bratty step kid," he said, before frowning. "Oh I don't mean that, Adric wasn't that bad I suppose," he muttered to himself. Meat laughed softly, before looking up at him. He still looked confused.

"You loved her," she stated. The Doctor didn't look up at her.

"I really was oblivious back then," he told her, "I didn't work out that I was probably in love with her until I was safely back in N-Space, that's the regular universe," he explained, heading off the question he knew would be coming. Meat nodded. "The next time I saw her, it was when the order was given out to go to war." He turned back to the console, working with the controls. There was a long pause.

"Right," Meat breathed out, realising she wasn't going to get much more from him. "Now she's … well now you know she's alive," she started, "are you going to tell her? That you're probably in love with her, I mean."

The Doctor didn't answer.


	12. Visiting Ms Smith

_**A/N:**__ Came out of a very random msn convo. Seems a bit rushed towards the end, but I liked the tone when I read it back to myself so finished it there. Enjoy ^^

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_

"Drax, will you _please_ stop playing around with the temporal stabiliser?" the Doctor pleaded with his son, whose curiosity kept making him prod the stabiliser with interest, wondering what it was likely to do next. The Tardis gave a disapproving hum, she was more than willing to allow Drax to fulfil his curiosity, as it wasn't as though she let them land anywhere more dangerous than what the Doctor regularly pulled them into. "Meat, a hand please?" he called over to the blonde, who was sitting on the couch, lazily flicking through a well worn paperback.

"Listen to yer father, Drax," she called over. "'E don't like people playin' wi' 'is toys," she smirked. The Doctor scowled lightly, chucking the cushion he had been kneeling on as he worked on the Tardis at her, which - of course - she dodged.

"Well, you two are the perfect role models," Donna commented lightly, bringing in a tray which held three cups of steaming hot tea, and a glass of milk for Drax - she wasn't going to be to blame for a low calcium growth in the boy. She handed him the glass with a smile, and he beamed back at her.

"Thank you Aunt Donna," he said politely. Meat frowned slightly, not been quite used to being around someone so young who was so well spoke, the Heartbreak had never prided itself on the diction of its inhabitants, but at the same time she was glad that her son at least was aware of his manners. Just because she didn't think much of them for her own use didn't mean that she was going to allow Drax to not use them. "And I was only trying to see if it would stop the bumps we always seem to have on remineralisation Dad," he explained carefully. "Isn't that what a stabiliser's for?"

"Ye wouldn't think it," Meat teased, "the way you pilot this thin'." The Doctor scowled once more, before looking over at the control.

"It's been years since that thing worked," he said, looking over at it with a curiosity that made it completely obvious what parent Drax had inherited it from. "Last time it worked was … November 1963, in Coal Hill," he muttered mostly to himself. "Thought I'd got rid of him then," he added in a lower mutter, which was definitely only meant for himself to hear.

"Should have asked that Sarah Jane to take a look at it Doctor," Donna said, handing him his cup of tea. "She seems to have a gift for fixing things like this," she added with a smile. "Didn't she make a weather machine or something like that?"

"She did yeah," the Doctor said, frowning deep in thought. Meat looked up from her book.

"Sarah Jane being an old friend then?" she asked, having heard the name once or twice but couldn't quite place it. Donna nodded, opening her mouth to respond when the Doctor stood up, throwing forward controls on the console, and turning to face them all with a mad grin.

"Let's go visiting."

**xXx**

"Well, Doctor, I can't say that this isn't a nice surprise," Sarah Jane said, hints of a grin forming at the corners of her mouth, "but you do look young this time."

"You know regeneration tends to make me look younger each time,"

"So you'll be a teenager next time?" Meat asked with interest. The Doctor shrugged slightly, not entirely sure himself. It all depended on how long this body lasted him really, and how old he looked when he next regenerated. Donna frowned over at him, turning to Sarah Jane.

"We're hopin' this body last longer than three years," she told her. Sarah Jane nodded, understanding her completely. "Anyway, we're here to, well, Doctor, Meat, I believe this is your job," she said, turning to face them. Meat grinned widely.

"Sarah Jane, meet Drax Loaf," she said, pushing Drax forward to stand in front of Sarah Jane, who blinked slightly. "Mine and the Doctor's son … and believe me when I say that this is a long story." An odd look crossed over Sarah Jane's face, and the Doctor had a feeling he knew what was causing it. Inwardly cursing his enigmatic Fourth self, he spoke up quietly.

"I can give you a good enough comparison: Luke," he said, looking down at the ground. Sarah Jane nodded, looking Drax with a slightly critical eye before smiling widely, holding out her hand in a greeting. Drax took it, shaking it.

"Pleased to meet you Drax."

"Same here, um," he paused, not quite sure how he was to address her. He looked up at the Doctor, imploring him for an answer. The Doctor exchanged what was - to Meat and Donna's eyes at least - a rather worried glance with Sarah Jane, before turning down to look at his son.

"She's your … your Aunt Sarah, Drax." The Doctor said, pausing only briefly as if trying to make his mind up on what to tell him. Drax nodded.

"Nice to meet you Aunt Sarah," he grinned, gaining an indulgent smile in return from Sarah Jane.

"Drax, I think if you look upstairs, you'll find Luke and Clyde deeply involved in some video game," she told him, "why don't you go join them? Speak to some children your own age," she suggested. Drax paused, considering this over for a moment or two, before nodding and walking up the stairs two steps at a time. Meat waited until he was out of ear shot, before nodding at Donna and turning to face the Doctor and Sarah Jane.

"What was with the glancing then?" she asked, eyebrow arched.

"Oh, don't miss a trick do you?" the Doctor said, a slight tone of annoyance clear in his voice. Sarah Jane laughed slightly, as Donna gave him a mocking semi slap on his arm.

"Less of the cheek you," she shot at him. "And come on, what was it about then? Are you going to tell us you're married or something?" She laughed, before trailing off, realising neither of them were laughing. "… You're a sick alien, you know that?"

"It wasn't the Doctor's fault," Sarah Jane said with a fond smile. "The Tardis had been knocked off course and we had to make an emergency landing on a planet which didn't quite agree to an unmarried male and female travelling together," she paused, remembering the occasion. "It was marry or die," she offered a shrug, showing how easy the choice had been to make.

"The marriage doesn't count on Earth," the Doctor told them, "it counts slightly with Gallifreyian law, but they argue that you can marry as many partners as you want, but you can only have one in a Gallifreyian marriage." There was a pause, as the Doctor looked down to the ground. Meat and Donna exchanged glances once more, the former shrugging, showing a form of satisfaction with the answer. Donna nodded, patting the Doctor on the shoulder.

"How long has it been then?" she asked. The couple in question frowned, neither quite able to remembered. Sarah Jane managed an answer after a moment or two's thought however.

"I'd say, perhaps, 30 years?" she said hesitantly, before nodding, almost completely confident in her answer. "It's never really been anything to worry about, if I'm honest," she told them. "Provides me with a status UNIT and Torchwood can only dream of when certain people come visiting," she gave a smile that gave a sense of pride, and Meat couldn't help laughing kindly. "But, as I said, nothing to worry about, now, who wants a cup of tea?"


	13. Talking to Yourself is the First Sign

_**A/N:**__ I'm not entirely sure how this particular chapter came about, but it's here so enjoy ^^. Oh yeah, I'm taking ideas for situations you might like to see (I have a few more situations planned - and though nothing seems connected there is a running theme, sort of, the Doctor becomes aware of it in this chapter - BIG clue there - but I do wanna do a couple more crossover chapters, so, erm, yeah, ideas please)  


* * *

_

"Why are you doing this?"

The all too familiar voice echoed in the silent console room at night. The Doctor frowned, turning round too face the origin of the voice. His voice, his old voice if he was being precise. "… How many rules are we breaking this time?" he asked. Ten glared back at him, seeing so much older than Eleven could ever remember him being.

"None."

"Oh? So this is all in my mind? Well that's a cheerful thought," Eleven said, "I always hoped for confirmation that I was actually going mad, I've thought it long enough." He looked down at the console, before sighing and sitting down on the couch, looking up at Ten with a faint sense of amusement. "Go on then, what am I doing wrong? I _can__'__t wait _to hear from the vainest of my incarnations."

"Much as we'd all like to hear what Pretty Boy has to say for himself," a soft Northern voice interrupted the conversation before Ten could even reopen his mouth, "I have a feeling he'd ramble and wouldn't get to the bloody point," Nine folded his arms across his chest, looking down at Eleven sternly. "The point is that you seem to have it made, but you're running more destructive than either of us did."

" … That's pretty ridiculous you know that?" Eleven said, leaning back on the couch and looking at them both. "I'll accept that it might have been the case, but you think I would do it _now_?" He let out a dry laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. "In case it's slipped your notice, I, _we_, have a son now. He needs us."

"I noticed," Ten said, a dark look on his face. Nine rolled his eyes at his future self's sudden grimness. He suspected that he knew the reason why, and though he did partially agree with him, he still thought he was taking it a little bit too far. "Awful quick wasn't it?"

"Shut up," Eleven hissed, a dark look of his own fixed on his face, not standing from the seat but instead moving forward, fists clenched tightly, his knuckles turning white. "You just shut up."

"I'm only saying that …"

"And I'm telling you to shut up!"

"Why don't both of you shut up or I'll thump the pair of you," Nine shot in angrily, a flicker of annoyance on his face. He rolled his eyes at his two future incarnations, and became grateful for his own relatively level head. Well, at least in comparison to those two. "We were pointing out how you seemed to be taking everything so personally. Well, that's what I was pointing out; Pretty Boy over there might have had something different to say." Eleven smirked, as Ten shot Nine a glare, muttering obscenities in Gallifreyian under his breath.

"I understand that," Eleven shrugged his shoulders, "but you're worrying for no reason. I mean, things are different now. Not just with Drax but with …"

"Romana," Nine and Ten spoke at the same time; Nine with a hint of bitterness and Ten with slight confusion to his tone, as though he were experiencing conflicting feelings regard the former Lady President.

"She gave the order," Nine muttered. Ten nodded in agreement with this, before frowning slightly.

"But we were the one who followed it out," he added, his tone dark for an altogether different reason now. "We could have found another way."

"What's done is done," Eleven said, looking up and not meeting either of their glances, knowing full well that they would be staring at him as though he had suddenly proposed marriage with Davros. "I may take things more personally now when I can't get them right, but I'm getting sentimental in my old age," he explained, looking at them and shrugging his shoulders. "I've just got to accept that what's done is done, and try to stop living with all this guilt," he looked away from them, his head titling to the side slightly as he considered the height of the Tardis console room. "The guilt's what'll kill me in the end, you know."

"You might be right about that one Doctor," Meat's voice echoed slightly in apparently very high roofed room. "But I doubt you'll let it take you without a fight." The Doctor looked away from the ceiling, towards Meat, finding them both alone in the control room, with absolutely no sign of his other selves. "Was just coming to tell you Drax's finally asleep. But apparently I caught you getting in some self therapy?" Meat laughed gently. "Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness y'know," she said, still grinning at him.

The Doctor considered this for a moment, a small side smile appearing slowly on his face. "Or the first step towards a sense of forgiveness."


	14. Enterprise

_**A/N:**__ This ... turned out a lot different than I had originally hoped it would ... I don't know whether that's a good thing or not.

* * *

_

It was a very odd situation, the Doctor decided, to be back on the Enterprise on it's first ever voyage. Even though the voyage was ahead of schedule, they were flying, well they thought to the aid of someone, but really it was into a trap, Spock was Acting Captain, Kirk wasn't even supposed to be on the ship.

Oh, and he had bumped into his son, all grown up. Meat was _never_ going to believe this.

It had all started just a few hours earlier, when he had received a distress signal on the Tardis monitor. Now, it is important to remember that it is very hard for the Tardis to pick up any sort of signals unless she considers them to be of great importance; so after a quick discussion with Meat and Donna, the Doctor had opted to follow to where the distress signal originated. They landed on Earth, around about the year 250, in America at the Starfleet Academy. Meat was not pleased.

"These people are worse than bloody Globalsoft!" she snapped, glaring up at the brightly lit building with venom, "Police the entire soddin' universe they do, an' not to mention, by my time it's more 'do as we say and we'll just stun you.' I don't see that being listed as the definition of fair. No' even in a Klingon dictionary!" The Doctor and Donn had just stared after the outburst. "... Well, it's a touchy subject, alright?!" Meat scowled, moving forward to grab Drax before he broke the expensive looking model ship.

"I take it that this isn't where the distress call originated from, is it Space Boy?" Donna question, full well knowing the real answer to her question. The Doctor nodded, and Donna sighed. "But you know Meat has difficulties being so close to her own time period, so you want her and Drax somewhere safe, and you're going to ask me to look after them both while you run off to save the day?"

"If you don't mind."

"If I didn't know you better," Donna began, "I'd say you were being a sexist pig who just wanted the glory of being a hero."

"And since you do know me better?"

"I say you're being an idiot who'll get slapped when Meat finds out," she grinned softly, leaning in and hugging him tightly. "You'd better come back, safe and sound, or so help me, I'll hunt you down Martian," she teased him, trying to block out the thought that it could all go wrong. The Doctor smiled briefly, dashing back to the Tardis and setting off before Drax and Meat noticed he'd gone.

When he got to the point of the distress call, he was surprised to see a rather unusual looking ship. Well, unusual for the time period at least. Maybe even unusual for it's own time period. "I make that a Romulan mining ship, but it's like it's been cannibalized," he muttered softly. A claxon went off in the Tardis. "And, now they've spotted me. _Perfect_." He began hitting at different buttons, trying to force the Tardis into an awkward flight path, hoping it would confused the pilots of the opposing ship. Unfortunately this didn't work out the way he had hoped, and the Doctor found himself being blasted at.

He allowed the Tardis to get nearest the blasts, closer and closer so that they were exploding range. As it blast, he hit the console, dematerializing in that very instant. When the Tardis informed him that they were safe, having reappeared on a nearby ship, he stepped outside.

Which is when he found himself being punched.

"You bastard!" the puncher yelled at him. "How could you fuckin' do something like that! Do you have absolutely no ... hang on. Look who I'm talking to! The universe's biggest idiot" he snapped, glaring at the Doctor, who stared speechlessly back.

"...Drax?!" he managed eventually, realising why it was that this person seemed so familiar to him. The puncher, Drax, gave him a 'no shit Sherlock,' look, turning away from his father with a scornful tut.

"Doctor!" the yell came echoing down the corridor. An attractive female came running up to them, stopping in front of Drax with concern. "Doctor, you need to come _now_," she insisted.

"Nyota, what's the matter?" Drax asked, frowning. "Oh no ... don't tell they're fighting," he sighed. "I'm coming. And, erm," he turned back to look at his father. "This is my Uncle Professor," he said, awkwardly waving his hand at the Doctor. "He was the idiot who tried to take on that ship on his own."

"Oh," Nyota looked unimpressed, and the three turned to move towards the bridge. In which Spock seemed to be attempting to kill Kirk.

"Jim and Spock fighting?" the Doctor muttered. "They're the best of friends, this doesn't make sense." He blinked, watching as Drax moved over and pulled Spock off Kirk, with a bit of effort. Well, more than a bit of effort, consider the grip Spock had on Kirk. "None of this is right," the Doctor muttered again.

A few hours later, when they had managed to get through all of the action; and got the Enterprise back in its semi-correct state, with Kirk as Captain, the Doctor cornered Drax in his quarters. "What's happened here? You've met Spock before, you know he's the best of friends with Jim Kirk."

"This isn't the reality you know Dad," Drax said, flicking through a book. "There was a time anomaly, the same one that caused ... well whatever the hell caused you to be here," he said.

"On that matter, why are you here?" the Doctor cut into Drax's explanation, watching his son carefully. He had grown up well, with his mother's good looks being an influence on him. His dark brown hair had lightened slightly, and he had allowed it to grow out somewhat, framing his face. "And going by Doctor? Drax... what?"

"I enlisted in Starfleet."

"...Your mother is going to kill you if she ever finds out," the Doctor said. Drax shrugged.

"I needed something to do." There was a pause. "And the universe needs a Doctor, Dad. It always will."

**xXx**

When he arrived back at Starfleet Academy, the Doctor was almost flattened by Drax jumping up at him, gabbling in an excited manner about the place. Meat frowned slightly, but couldn't help but smile at her son's enthusiasm. Donna, it appeared, had scored a date with Admiral Pike, so they had to stay another night.

He opted not to tell Meat about meeting the older Drax but, when looking on the child version of his son, and remembering his words, he wondered what they were going to face that would make him so bitter.


	15. Tragedy

_**A/N:**__ After this week's Torchwood... Just ... yeah

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_

The Doctor doesn't look at all surprised to come across the man in the World War Two RAF greatcoat. Donna doesn't either, for that matter. Meat doesn't know whether to be surprised or not, she's seen more surprising things with the Doctor. Though it is a little disconcerting to see the man collapse, sobbing, into the Doctor's arms, gripping on to him as a small child would their mother. And speaking of small children... The Doctor advises Meat to keep Drax out of the way for a bit, just until they could get things sorted out. Meat agreed, if only because the sight was a little too uncomfortable for her to handle at the moment.

It was a few hours later that she and Drax made their way into the control room. Between them, the Doctor and Donna had managed to get the man – Jack, apparently, - into a sitting position, with hot sweet tea clasped between his hands, a blanket covering his shoulders. He was muttering slightly, and Meat couldn't make all the mutters out, though she very much doubted that she would at all want to understand what it was that he was saying. He looked as though he had been through something completely horrible, and the few snatches of mutters that she could understand made Meat want to hug her son to her, and never let go.

The next day, or perhaps it was the day after that again, Jack seemed more relaxed, and at ease with himself on the Tardis, though he was completely perplexed as to how he actually got there. Meat found him to be easy to be around; he reminded her a lot of the Bohemians, and – with a strong pang of pain – of Brit. He had the same slight hero complex and the same twinkle in his eyes when you managed to get him to properly laugh. It was nice. Having said that, his constant flirting was a bit on the irritating side, and considering who that statement came from, it said rather a lot. The Doctor had laughed when she mentioned this, but Meat noticed that the laugh didn't quite reach his eyes.

Whatever this Jack had been through, it had been possibly one of the most harrowing experiences in his life, and it was something that Meat never wanted even the slightest hint about.

Within a few months, filled with many adventures, both good and bad, Jack made his leave. It looked as though this leaving had been fully expected by the Doctor for a while, and Donna seemed to giving the same reaction. Drax, having not really warmed to Jack, finding the man's disconnected nature to be unsettling, wasn't bothered about the leaving, but said goodbye to be polite. Meat had become quite fond of him, in a slightly detached way. All in all the goodbyes were short, with the promise of seeing each other all again soon. All expect the goodbye between Jack and the Doctor.

The pair shared a look that betrayed more than each had expected. "It never goes away," the Doctor said, looking at Jack soberly. "It'll be with you forever, and it will never go away." There was a haunted aspect to the Doctor's tone. Jack looked at him.

"Does it get any easier?" There was a long pause.

"You'll learn hope to cope."

That was the first time that Meat wondered if there was more tragedy to the Doctor that she had originally thought.


	16. Question and Answer

_**A/N:**__ New chapter time!

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_

"Do you think he resents us?" Meat's question came out of nowhere, and surprised the Doctor slightly. "Drax, I mean. Do you think he resents us for not being there for him when... well when he was going through all the bad things?" The Doctor frowned, not understanding the question. Meat sighed. "I can't help but think that he's going to end up hating us." An image flashed in the Doctor's mind, the Drax he had met on board the Star ship Enterprise. He had been so angry, so bitter, so... well; hateful was the only word he could think of to describe it.

"I don't think he resents us," he answered Meat's question. It was true enough, the question had been asked about the present Drax, who didn't resent them in the slightest.

"Do you think he will?" He couldn't give her an answer.

Over at the door of the control room, the young Drax frowned, wondering if there was anything he could say to make his parents feel better.

**xXx**

Meat slept uneasily that night. It was light dozing really, as she tossed and turned in her bed.

"Mum."

She sat right up, clutching at the blanket and staring out. It was only through years of been woken in the Heartbreak Hotel due to certain people screaming out various things at night that she didn't start, or make any noise at all. Instead, she frowned in the darkness, trying to make out the figure. Her eyes widened. "Dra..."

"No, don't," Drax, an older Drax, said quickly. "I am breaking so many rules by doing this, and if we wake up the little me I'm pretty sure we'll cause some huge paradox beyond repair." He paused. "I just... I always remembered your question to Dad, worrying I might hate you." Meat opened her mouth to speak, but Drax stopped her. "No, Mum, just... just listen, okay?" There was a pause, and Meat nodded. Drax wet his lips nervously. "I can't lie to you, and say that I never hate you. There is a part of my life when, well, external circumstances lead to a lot of hatred on my part. But I get over it," he smiled softly, "I just... I might hate you for a little bit, but it's nothing to do with what happened to me." There was a silence between the two, in which Drax stood and began to make his way to the door.

"So," Meat said slowly, "what happens to make you hate me?" The question fell on an empty room. She blinked a few times, before settling back down in her bed. She had seen a lot of weird things in her time with the Doctor that she had just accepted with a shrug of her shoulders. That's just what she'd do here. Shrug her shoulders and accept it.

Didn't make her feel any better, though.

**xXx**

"You tell her then?" The black haired girl leaning against the console asked, smirking up at Drax slightly.

"Off Freddie," he said, moving over to type in the coordinates of their new location. "And yes, I did." Freddie grinned.

"So how did Auntie Meat take it then?" she asked, using the term she knew Meat hated being called. Drax rolled his eyes slightly.

"The same way Uncle Gaz and Scaramouche took the news that their only daughter was going gallivanting around the universe with their half-breed nephew," he said, concentrating on the console. "How about Oua?" Freddie shook her head.

"We were there last week," she told him. "Just randomise it Was fun last time we did that." Drax grinned, switching the randomiser on.

"Allons-y!"


End file.
